West in favor of prolonged war in Ukraine: Belarus' president

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the United States and its NATO allies are in favor of a prolonged conflict in Ukraine in a bid to drown Russia and Belarus in the war.

Speaking at a ceremony on Friday, Lukashenko said that the West did not “need peace at all.”

“All of them keep shouting about ending war in Ukraine. In public,” he said. “But what they need there is war, the more of it, the better. In order to drown Russia and us, too, in that war,” said the president.

Lukashenko said that the West would not “let Ukraine make a move” to end the war.

The Belarusian president, however, said Mink and Moscow “are not going to succumb to their lecturing,” which he described as an “empty talk.”

Belarus, Ukraine’s northern neighbor, has been a strategic ally of Russia.

Tensions have heightened between the West and Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered a military offensive in Ukraine more than a week ago.

Russia, Ukraine agree on humanitarian corridors

Meanwhile, the second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia are underway in Belarus to set up humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. During the talks on Friday, Ukraine and Russia agreed to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from unspecified locations.

A third round of talks is expected to take place next week.

SS