Alexander Lukashenko didn’t expect war in Ukraine to ‘drag on like this’

He also spoke out against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but wouldn’t say whether Russian President Vladimir Putin had plans to launch such a strike.

Mr Lukashenko said Moscow, which launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24 – partly from his territory – had to act because Kyiv was “provoking Russia”.

“But I am not immersed in this problem enough to say whether it goes according to plan, like the Russians say, or like I feel it,” he said, speaking at Independence Palace in Minsk. “I want to stress one more time: I feel like this operation has dragged on.”

Mr Lukashenko’s support of the war has prompted international criticism and sanctions against Minsk. Some Russian troops were sent from Belarusian territory into Ukraine, and Mr Lukashenko has publicly stood by his long-time ally, who has pumped billions of dollars into shoring up his Soviet-style, state-controlled economy with cheap energy and loans.

But in his comments to the AP, Mr Lukashenko said he and his country stand for peace and repeatedly called for the end of the “war” – a term the Kremlin refuses to use, calling the invasion a “special military operation” instead.

The 67-year-old president struck a calm and more measured tone in the nearly 90-minute interview than in previous media appearances in which he hectored the West over sanctions.

“We categorically do not accept any war. We have done and are doing everything now so that there isn’t a war. Thanks to yours truly, me that is, negotiations between Ukraine and Russia have begun,” he said.

Mr Lukashenko said using nuclear weapons in Ukraine was “unacceptable because it’s right next to us – we are not across the ocean like the United States”.

“It is also unacceptable because it might knock our terrestrial ball flying off the orbit to who knows where,” he said. “Whether or not Russia is capable of that... is a question you need to ask the Russian leadership.”

Russia “can’t by definition lose this war”, Mr Lukashenko said, noting that Belarus is the only country standing by Moscow, while “as many as 50 states have joined forces” on Ukraine’s side.

He added that Mr Putin isn’t seeking a direct conflict with Nato.

“He most likely does not want a global confrontation with Nato. Use it. Use it and do everything for that not to happen. Otherwise, even if Putin doesn’t want it, the military will react,” the Belarusian leader warned.

Mr Lukashenko called Mr Putin his “big brother”. Their relationship has been particularly close recently but was rocky in earlier years, when Mr Lukashenko often accused the Kremlin of trying to force him to relinquish control of prized economic assets and abandon his country’s independence.

Mr Lukashenko’s support of the invasion has stopped short of deploying his own troops there, but has still drawn criticism from the Belarusian opposition.

Top Belarus opposition activist Pavel Latushka dismissed Mr Lukashenko’s calls for peace, saying they “look absurd after more than 600 missiles were fired from the territory of Belarus, and the country became a platform for aggression”.

Mr Lukashenko told AP that his country poses no danger to others, even as its military conducted drills this week.

He blamed the West – especially Washington – for fuelling the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.