Opinion: Lukashenko is not President of war, but of peace
Aleksandr Lukashenko is not the President of war, but of peace, and that’s why the Head of State stands for an early settlement of the conflict in Ukraine – as stated by political expert Aleksandr Shpakovsky in his talk with Alfa Radio
When asked to comment on Aleksandr Lukashenko’s words about the Ukrainian conflict during his recent interview to Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko, the expert noted, “The President has repeatedly outlined this roadmap [for a way out of the Ukrainian conflict] and voiced assessments regarding the current Ukrainian political system. It is clear that the Head of State needs to take into account the context in which we exist. The President has many times stated that, no matter how relations with the political elite of certain countries develop, neighbours are God-given. Maybe somewhere Aleksandr Lukashenko emotionally and openly characterised the neighbouring country’s establishment, but – when talking about interstate relations – the personal attitude should give way to the state approach.”
In this regard, it is necessary to look for ways to resolve the conflict, and the expert added, “The conflict should be settled in such a way that the interests of the Republic of Belarus are taken into account locally, and the interests of the camp in which the republic is a member are taken into account in the geopolitical terms. I mean here the Union State, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the Chinese peace initiatives, the peace proposals of the Global South and Turkiye. All this should be woven into a single plan, and a compromise solution will be further based on the latter.”
As noted by Mr. Shpakovsky, the Belarusian leader’s position is based on immediate peace negotiations. “It's hard to argue with that. Aleksandr Lukashenko is not the President of war, but of peace – despite the fact that the Head of State once said quite frankly that he had been preparing for war over the entire period of his presidency. Differently speaking, he keeps powder dry so as not to repeat the fate of the countries that tried to pursue a sovereign policy but later fell victim to the world powers. Belarus manages to successfully realise its interests in the foreign policy arena, also preserving its centuries-old right to be called a nation. This is the slogan of our people, who – throughout the many-year heroic and long-suffering history – have repeatedly been subjected to discrimination and even attempts at complete physical destruction," Mr. Shpakovsky concluded.
