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The Ukrainian leader claimed that Aleksandr Lukashenko “apologized” to him for Russian missile strikes
Belarus has rejected Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s claim that President Aleksandr Lukashenko apologized to him during a phone call made in the early days of the conflict with Russia. Zelensky made his comments during a three-hour interview with US-based podcaster Lex Fridman released on Sunday.
Early in 2022, Russia used Belarusian territory to launch strikes and transport troops to areas near Kiev during the first months of the conflict. Speaking to Fridman, Zelensky claimed that Lukashenko “apologized” to him during a phone call made “in the first days of the war.”
“He said, ‘It wasn’t me. The missiles were launched from my territory. Putin launched them.’ Those were his words. I have witnesses,” Zelensky said.
According to Lukashenko’s spokeswoman, Natalya Eysmont, the 2022 phone call occurred only because of “an emotional reaction” of the Belarusian leader’s youngest son, Nikolay, who had Zelensky’s personal number.
“The essence of the conversation was the following. Most of all, our president was saying that a conflict had broken out on the territory of Ukraine, on Zelensky’s territory, and that he, more than everyone else, will eventually have to bear responsibility for the deaths,” Eysmont told the Russian news channel RBK.
“That is why our president was calling for negotiations,” she added. “The president of Belarus has offered no apologies to Zelensky, simply because he had nothing to apologize for,” Eysmont said.
Moscow and Minsk are bound by a mutual defense pact. Russia has deployed additional forces and stationed nuclear weapons in Belarus since 2022, citing the tensions with the West over Ukraine.
Lukashenko has publicly backed Russia, saying in 2023 that Ukraine has “provoked” ongoing hostilities. He insisted that Belarus is not a party to the conflict, however.
In early 2022, Belarus hosted three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The talks finally broke down in the spring of 2022, after a failed summit in Türkiye. Both sides have since accused each other of making unrealistic demands.
