Belarus will not be dragged into Ukraine war, but will defend itself with Russia

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday dismissed any notion that Belarus would be dragged into the Ukraine war, but said Russia and Belarus would jointly defend themselves in case of aggression, Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported.



Lukashenko was also quoted by BELTA as saying that he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly suggested that Belarus could become further involved in the more than four-year-old conflict.



Lukashenko made his remarks during joint nuclear exercises with Russia which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin observed via a video conference.



"As for (Zelenskiy's) statements that Belarus will be drawn into the war, as I have just said, this will occur in only one instance - if aggression is committed on our territory," BELTA quoted Lukashenko as saying.