The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said the Istanbul talks held in 2022 could become a starting point for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, as he warned of a nuclear apocalypse if Russia was pushed too far.
Speaking at the All-Belarusian Congress in Minsk, Lukashenko said this does not mean that the talks "will be laid as a basis" "but they are something the sides can start with and then move forward," he said.
Earlier this month, Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko suggested taking the document that was agreed upon during Istanbul talks to facilitate reconciliation.
"Yes, and work with it. This is a reasonable position. It contains a position acceptable for Ukraine, they accepted this position," Putin agreed.
Putin noted that work on that draft started in Belarus, lasted for quite a while and was finished in Istanbul, where it was preliminary signed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arkhamia.
"As you know, later, under pressure from the West, the Ukrainian side opted out of these agreements. I would like to remind you that at the time we were told that we could not sign the document in this manner, that Ukraine could not sign the document 'with a gun to its head' that we had to withdraw our troops from Kyiv. So, we did. Immediately after we did that, our agreements were thrown in the trash," he said.
At the same time, the so-called "peace formula" of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "seems patriotic, but unrealistic," Lukashenko said, adding that Russia will never agree on ultimatums on paying reparations, return to the 1991 borders and court-martial its leadership.
Russia and Ukraine held a series of peace talks in March 2022 in Türkiye and even agreed on a draft of the future peace agreement. But Kyiv then changed its position and withdrew from talks.
In October 2022, Zelenskyy signed a decree prohibiting any peace talks with Russia while Vladimir Putin serves as its president.
The current situation in Ukraine provides a chance to conclude a peace treaty, but if Kyiv does not engage in talks it may lose its statehood, Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko said currently the situation is favorable because neither Russia nor Ukraine can prevail on the battlefield, and such conditions are the best for starting a dialogue.
Russia launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022. The West has since supported Kyiv through economic, military and humanitarian means.
"Ukraine needs peace today, escape of more or less healthy, sane male Ukrainians from the country in order not to get to the front is evidence of that," he said.
Lukashenko highlighted difficulties with the Western military assistance to Ukraine, noting that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should proceed from reality and understand that his country needs peace.
"If we do not negotiate now, Ukraine will lose its statehood over time and may cease to exist. Ukraine needs peace today. We must move towards peace," he stressed.
Lukashenko warns of nuclear apocalypse
Lukashenko has warned of a nuclear apocalypse if Russia continues to be pressured by the West, in an address in Minsk on Thursday reported by Belarusian media.
"One careless word, one movement could cause armed conflict up to the use of nuclear weapons," Lukashenko, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told the All Belarusian People's Assembly.
The country's highest constitutional body is to pass a new security doctrine that describes the expansion of NATO into formerly communist Eastern Europe as a danger to peace. Moscow takes a similar view.
Lukashenko warned that in the event of an increase in domestic tension in Russia, Moscow could use its entire arsenal. "That will be the apocalypse," Lukashenko, whose 2020 re-election has not been accepted by the United States or the European Union, said.
The conflict in Ukraine, Belarus's southern neighbor, posed the greatest threat to national security, Lukashenko said. He accused the West of trying to draw Belarus into the conflict.