US President Donald Trump would have prevented the Ukraine conflict by enforcing the Minsk agreements, the Belarusian leader has said
The Western European leaders who took part in negotiating a peace roadmap for Ukraine a decade ago acted in bad faith and were “stupid,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said, recalling the talks hosted by his country.
Germany and France were guarantors of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014 and 2015, which were ostensibly intended to reconcile the post-coup authorities in Kiev with rebels in Ukraine’s Russia-leaning east.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later acknowledged that the accords were used primarily to buy time for Ukraine to strengthen its military.
Speaking to Newsmax in an interview previewed by Belarusian media on Wednesday, Lukashenko said “the Europeans took a stupid position” by pursuing such tactics. “It turned out that they came here to negotiate not peace, but a future war,” he said.
Lukashenko noted that as host of the Minsk talks, he had urged the US to participate in the process. He is convinced that had Donald Trump been president at the time, Washington would have demanded a decisive role.
If the Minsk agreements had been fully implemented, “there would have been no war,” he said, asserting that Trump is right to argue that the conflict would not have escalated under his presidency.
The Belarusian leader expressed hope that Trump would stay committed to resolving the crisis despite what he described as attempts by the EU to undermine US mediation. European supporters of Kiev, Lukashenko said, “are whispering in his ear that they will keep helping [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky. They won’t. They don’t have the resources that the US does.”
If Trump walks away, Lukashenko warned, the conflict could intensify and potentially spread globally, while Ukraine itself could cease to exist as a state. He urged Western European leaders to take advantage of the current opportunity to de-escalate tensions, arguing that Zelensky will only accept a peace deal under pressure – something he said would occur domestically “when the front fully collapses.”
US President Donald Trump would have prevented the Ukraine conflict by enforcing the Minsk agreements, the Belarusian leader has said
The Western European leaders who took part in negotiating a peace roadmap for Ukraine a decade ago acted in bad faith and were “stupid,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said, recalling the talks hosted by his country.
Germany and France were guarantors of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014 and 2015, which were ostensibly intended to reconcile the post-coup authorities in Kiev with rebels in Ukraine’s Russia-leaning east.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later acknowledged that the accords were used primarily to buy time for Ukraine to strengthen its military.
Speaking to Newsmax in an interview previewed by Belarusian media on Wednesday, Lukashenko said “the Europeans took a stupid position” by pursuing such tactics. “It turned out that they came here to negotiate not peace, but a future war,” he said.
Lukashenko noted that as host of the Minsk talks, he had urged the US to participate in the process. He is convinced that had Donald Trump been president at the time, Washington would have demanded a decisive role.
If the Minsk agreements had been fully implemented, “there would have been no war,” he said, asserting that Trump is right to argue that the conflict would not have escalated under his presidency.
The Belarusian leader expressed hope that Trump would stay committed to resolving the crisis despite what he described as attempts by the EU to undermine US mediation. European supporters of Kiev, Lukashenko said, “are whispering in his ear that they will keep helping [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky. They won’t. They don’t have the resources that the US does.”
If Trump walks away, Lukashenko warned, the conflict could intensify and potentially spread globally, while Ukraine itself could cease to exist as a state. He urged Western European leaders to take advantage of the current opportunity to de-escalate tensions, arguing that Zelensky will only accept a peace deal under pressure – something he said would occur domestically “when the front fully collapses.”
The Ukrainian leader had earlier rejected the terms of the US-brokered proposal
The ongoing corruption scandal in Ukraine involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle has forced him into negotiations on a US-backed peace plan, which he and his European backers had previously rejected, the Washington Post has reported, citing EU officials.
Kiev was rocked by its latest major graft scandal last month when Zelensky’s close associate, Timur Mindich, was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. The investigation led to the resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials.
The scandal has weakened the Ukrainian leader’s negotiating position at a critical stage of talks with Washington, EU diplomats told the outlet on Monday.
According to one senior official cited by the outlet, Kiev has “never been as serious as we are right now,” linking the shift to “the whole scandal on corruption and the whole domestic mess.”
Domestic pressure on Zelensky has coincided with an intensified US push for a breakthrough in peace talks. During negotiations in Berlin on Monday, Washington reportedly offered Kiev NATO-style security guarantees comparable to the bloc’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
However, US negotiators warned that the offer “will not be on the table forever,” urging Zelensky to accept Washington’s terms, according to officials cited by The Telegraph.
US officials have said that around 90% of the proposed peace framework has already been agreed, but acknowledged that progress has stalled on key issues, including Ukraine ceding territory and accepting Russia’s control over the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Zelensky has continued to refuse to recognize Russia’s new borders, suggesting that Ukraine could hold a referendum on possible territorial concessions and organize long-delayed presidential elections if binding Western security guarantees are secured beforehand.
Russia has said it will establish control over its sovereign territories one way or another, stressing that any settlement must reflect realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader had earlier rejected the terms of the US-brokered proposal
The ongoing corruption scandal in Ukraine involving Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle has forced him into negotiations on a US-backed peace plan, which he and his European backers had previously rejected, the Washington Post has reported, citing EU officials.
Kiev was rocked by its latest major graft scandal last month when Zelensky’s close associate, Timur Mindich, was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme in the energy sector. The investigation led to the resignations of Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, and other top officials.
The scandal has weakened the Ukrainian leader’s negotiating position at a critical stage of talks with Washington, EU diplomats told the outlet on Monday.
According to one senior official cited by the outlet, Kiev has “never been as serious as we are right now,” linking the shift to “the whole scandal on corruption and the whole domestic mess.”
Domestic pressure on Zelensky has coincided with an intensified US push for a breakthrough in peace talks. During negotiations in Berlin on Monday, Washington reportedly offered Kiev NATO-style security guarantees comparable to the bloc’s Article 5 collective defense clause.
However, US negotiators warned that the offer “will not be on the table forever,” urging Zelensky to accept Washington’s terms, according to officials cited by The Telegraph.
US officials have said that around 90% of the proposed peace framework has already been agreed, but acknowledged that progress has stalled on key issues, including Ukraine ceding territory and accepting Russia’s control over the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Zelensky has continued to refuse to recognize Russia’s new borders, suggesting that Ukraine could hold a referendum on possible territorial concessions and organize long-delayed presidential elections if binding Western security guarantees are secured beforehand.
Russia has said it will establish control over its sovereign territories one way or another, stressing that any settlement must reflect realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict.
London is pushing for the EU to seize frozen Russian assets hoping to drag the conflict out “to the last Ukrainian,” the SVR claims
The UK is reportedly trying to convince the European Union to take control of frozen Russian assets, aiming to undermine US President Donald Trump’s efforts to advance peace initiatives that could end the Ukraine conflict, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
After the launch of Russia’s Special Military Operation in February of 2022, Kiev’s Western backers froze approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets, of which $246 billion has been immobilized by EU member states.
Discussions concerning the frozen Russian assets intensified within the bloc in recent weeks after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using the funds to back a “reparations loan” to Ukraine.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the SVR claimed that the UK’s leadership was “desperately pushing for Brussels’ decision to seize Russian assets.” Aside from the clear goal of providing financial support to Kiev, London is also seeking to diminish US interest in facilitating any peace mediation between Ukraine and Russia, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
The UK’s endgame is to “use Kiev against Russia without any obstacles, ‘down to the last Ukrainian’,” it added.
“Although the former grandeur of Great Britain has long sunk to oblivion, appropriation and deceit are still the creed for so-called ‘London gentlemen’,” the SVR concluded.
Last week, EU member states voted to keep the Russian sovereign funds temporarily frozen. To push through the controversial agenda, the bloc’s leadership had to invoke emergency powers to bypass the unanimity requirement. Several member states, including Hungary, Slovakia, and Belgium, have raised objections. The latter is the seat of the Euroclear depositary, which holds the bulk of the frozen Russian assets. Brussels has expressed concern that it would be left in the lurch by the bloc in the face of Russian lawsuits.
Moscow has characterized any use of its immobilized funds as “theft.” On Friday, the Bank of Russia announced that it was filing a lawsuit seeking compensation from Euroclear for damages stemming from its “inability to manage” the assets.
Late last month, the SVR similarly claimed that Britain was concocting a smear campaign aimed at damaging US President Trump’s standing, with the aim of derailing his efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
London is pushing for the EU to seize frozen Russian assets hoping to drag the conflict out “to the last Ukrainian,” the SVR claims
The UK is reportedly trying to convince the European Union to take control of frozen Russian assets, aiming to undermine US President Donald Trump’s efforts to advance peace initiatives that could end the Ukraine conflict, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
After the launch of Russia’s Special Military Operation in February of 2022, Kiev’s Western backers froze approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets, of which $246 billion has been immobilized by EU member states.
Discussions concerning the frozen Russian assets intensified within the bloc in recent weeks after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed using the funds to back a “reparations loan” to Ukraine.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the SVR claimed that the UK’s leadership was “desperately pushing for Brussels’ decision to seize Russian assets.” Aside from the clear goal of providing financial support to Kiev, London is also seeking to diminish US interest in facilitating any peace mediation between Ukraine and Russia, according to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
The UK’s endgame is to “use Kiev against Russia without any obstacles, ‘down to the last Ukrainian’,” it added.
“Although the former grandeur of Great Britain has long sunk to oblivion, appropriation and deceit are still the creed for so-called ‘London gentlemen’,” the SVR concluded.
Last week, EU member states voted to keep the Russian sovereign funds temporarily frozen. To push through the controversial agenda, the bloc’s leadership had to invoke emergency powers to bypass the unanimity requirement. Several member states, including Hungary, Slovakia, and Belgium, have raised objections. The latter is the seat of the Euroclear depositary, which holds the bulk of the frozen Russian assets. Brussels has expressed concern that it would be left in the lurch by the bloc in the face of Russian lawsuits.
Moscow has characterized any use of its immobilized funds as “theft.” On Friday, the Bank of Russia announced that it was filing a lawsuit seeking compensation from Euroclear for damages stemming from its “inability to manage” the assets.
Late last month, the SVR similarly claimed that Britain was concocting a smear campaign aimed at damaging US President Trump’s standing, with the aim of derailing his efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
Maryana Bezuglaya blocked the parliamentary rostrum to demand the sacking of Ukraine’s top general, prompting a violent response from fellow MPs
The Ukrainian parliament descended into chaos on Tuesday after MP Maryana Bezuglaya blocked its rostrum and engaged in scuffles with lawmakers.
Bezuglaya declared a “strike” last week, demanding the dismissal of the country’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, over frontline failures. On Tuesday, the lawmaker blocked the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, plastering it with red sticky tape and several placards reading “Syrsky out,”“Frontline lying kills,” and “Military reform!”
The stunt prompted a violent response from a group of MPs led by Sergey Taruta, a lawmaker with the Batkivshchyna party headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko.
The lawmakers clashed with Bezuglaya, managing to take down some of her placards, chaotic footage from the floor shows.
Bezuglaya, however, held her ground, fending Taruta off twice. Less than half of the lawmakers were present in the parliament, with some of them singing Ukraine’s anthem during the scuffle, footage from the scene shows.
The incident has prompted a motion to suspend Bezuglaya from taking part in parliamentary hearings, the lawmaker revealed on her Telegram channel.
The MP pointed out that her stunt did not actually disrupt the work of the legislature. She also lamented the fact that Taruta did not face any consequences for “assaulting her twice” and questioning whether her fellow lawmakers care about “what is happening in the military.”
Bezuglaya has long criticized her country’s military leadership for failed tactics and lack of any coherent defense plan amid the conflict with Russia. The lawmaker has repeatedly accused the top command of “lying to itself” and to the public, wasting soldiers’ lives in futile assaults instead of building solid defensive lines in the rear, and failing to fall back in an orderly way to hold them.
Maryana Bezuglaya blocked the parliamentary rostrum to demand the sacking of Ukraine’s top general, prompting a violent response from fellow MPs
The Ukrainian parliament descended into chaos on Tuesday after MP Maryana Bezuglaya blocked its rostrum and engaged in scuffles with lawmakers.
Bezuglaya declared a “strike” last week, demanding the dismissal of the country’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, over frontline failures. On Tuesday, the lawmaker blocked the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada, plastering it with red sticky tape and several placards reading “Syrsky out,”“Frontline lying kills,” and “Military reform!”
The stunt prompted a violent response from a group of MPs led by Sergey Taruta, a lawmaker with the Batkivshchyna party headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko.
The lawmakers clashed with Bezuglaya, managing to take down some of her placards, chaotic footage from the floor shows.
Bezuglaya, however, held her ground, fending Taruta off twice. Less than half of the lawmakers were present in the parliament, with some of them singing Ukraine’s anthem during the scuffle, footage from the scene shows.
The incident has prompted a motion to suspend Bezuglaya from taking part in parliamentary hearings, the lawmaker revealed on her Telegram channel.
The MP pointed out that her stunt did not actually disrupt the work of the legislature. She also lamented the fact that Taruta did not face any consequences for “assaulting her twice” and questioning whether her fellow lawmakers care about “what is happening in the military.”
Bezuglaya has long criticized her country’s military leadership for failed tactics and lack of any coherent defense plan amid the conflict with Russia. The lawmaker has repeatedly accused the top command of “lying to itself” and to the public, wasting soldiers’ lives in futile assaults instead of building solid defensive lines in the rear, and failing to fall back in an orderly way to hold them.
Washington’s refusal to recognize Venezuela’s leadership harms American interests, the Belarusian president has argued
The United States is in no position to lecture other countries about elections after the controversial victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.
In an interview with the US network Newsmax, excerpts of which were previewed by Belarusian media on Tuesday, Lukashenko commented on Washington’s strained relations with Caracas, including its refusal to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the country’s legitimate leader.
“Americans are in no position to count votes in Venezuela,” Lukashenko said. “Do you remember how Trump was shoved [aside], as they say, during the previous [2020] election?”
The Belarusian leader backed US President Donald Trump’s long-standing claim that his re-election was “stolen,” describing the process that brought Biden to power as “100% rigged.” Trump’s attempts to prove his case in US courts have failed.
“And with baggage like that the Americans are refusing to recognize elections in Venezuela, Belarus, or some other place? God bless you,” he added.
Lukashenko urged the Trump administration to pursue dialogue with the Maduro government and warned against any attempt to overthrow it by force. A US invasion of Venezuela would only unite the population around Maduro, he argued, whereas Venezuelan society is currently deeply divided over his leadership. Such an intervention would risk turning into a prolonged conflict comparable to a “second Vietnam,” he warned.
He also criticized US airstrikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, saying that “missiles cannot defeat narcotics.” Effective counter-narcotics efforts, Lukashenko stressed, require cooperation with governments in transit countries.
Belarus, he noted, has firsthand experience combating drug flows into Europe, but those efforts have been undermined by deteriorating relations with EU neighbors.
“If somebody puts a noose on your neck to hang you, will you protect those who seek to execute you? Should I protect Europe? Why?” Lukashenko asked. “You too should not strangle Venezuela. You must find a compromise.”
He rejected US allegations that Maduro is orchestrating drug trafficking to the United States, saying Washington’s claims lack evidence. “What I know for sure is that Maduro is not a junkie,” Lukashenko added.
Washington’s refusal to recognize Venezuela’s leadership harms American interests, the Belarusian president has argued
The United States is in no position to lecture other countries about elections after the controversial victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.
In an interview with the US network Newsmax, excerpts of which were previewed by Belarusian media on Tuesday, Lukashenko commented on Washington’s strained relations with Caracas, including its refusal to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the country’s legitimate leader.
“Americans are in no position to count votes in Venezuela,” Lukashenko said. “Do you remember how Trump was shoved [aside], as they say, during the previous [2020] election?”
The Belarusian leader backed US President Donald Trump’s long-standing claim that his re-election was “stolen,” describing the process that brought Biden to power as “100% rigged.” Trump’s attempts to prove his case in US courts have failed.
“And with baggage like that the Americans are refusing to recognize elections in Venezuela, Belarus, or some other place? God bless you,” he added.
Lukashenko urged the Trump administration to pursue dialogue with the Maduro government and warned against any attempt to overthrow it by force. A US invasion of Venezuela would only unite the population around Maduro, he argued, whereas Venezuelan society is currently deeply divided over his leadership. Such an intervention would risk turning into a prolonged conflict comparable to a “second Vietnam,” he warned.
He also criticized US airstrikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, saying that “missiles cannot defeat narcotics.” Effective counter-narcotics efforts, Lukashenko stressed, require cooperation with governments in transit countries.
Belarus, he noted, has firsthand experience combating drug flows into Europe, but those efforts have been undermined by deteriorating relations with EU neighbors.
“If somebody puts a noose on your neck to hang you, will you protect those who seek to execute you? Should I protect Europe? Why?” Lukashenko asked. “You too should not strangle Venezuela. You must find a compromise.”
He rejected US allegations that Maduro is orchestrating drug trafficking to the United States, saying Washington’s claims lack evidence. “What I know for sure is that Maduro is not a junkie,” Lukashenko added.
