Self-proclaimed Belarusian president says Ukraine's fate will not be decided without Ukraine
Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, has stated that decisions regarding the end of the war in Ukraine will not be made without Ukraine’s involvement.
Source: an interview with Lukashenko cited by Belarusian news agency BelTA
Details: Lukashenko was asked what Vladimir Putin had told him regarding negotiations with the United States.
Quote from Lukashenko: "…Then he [Putin – ed.] went on saying that the Ukrainians and Zelenskyy are upset that they were not invited to Saudi Arabia. He said: ‘Why invite them if the issues there concerned Russia and the United States? The issue of Ukraine was only briefly touched upon in those talks. So why invite Ukraine?’ But Trump has already spoken about this in the same manner.
When it comes to deciding on Ukraine’s future, I believe no one will make those decisions without Ukraine."
Background:
- On 14 February, Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, emphasised that Putin would not be able to avoid direct talks with Zelenskyy.
- On 18 February, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to hold talks with Zelenskyy, but that "the establishment of agreements should be discussed given the existing possibility of Zelenskyy's legitimacy being challenged".
- On 19 February, Putin said he had been briefed on the outcome of Russian-American negotiations in Riyadh and expressed willingness to meet with Trump.
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