According to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin was deceived by forces claiming to represent President Zelensky's goodwill in seeking peace, leading to the withdrawal of troops from the region near Kyiv in 2022.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Lukashenko said that the conflict could have ended quickly in the early stages, when Moscow's forces advanced closer to the Ukrainian capital.
According to BelTA, the Belarusian leader said: “At that time, not only I but everyone in the world understood that the war would quickly end with a Russian victory. This was mainly because Russian troops were in Kyiv.”
However, Lukashenko claimed that “some politicians and forces” subsequently urged Putin to stop, withdraw troops from Kyiv, and sign a peace agreement. “Before that withdrawal took place, everyone understood that the end of Ukraine was near.”
The Belarusian president argued that Moscow acted on a genuine opportunity to reach an agreement, adding: "Judge for yourselves who is right and who is wrong in this matter."
“Once again, perhaps these forces deceived him. That was the Vatican. And, surprisingly, the Jewish lobby, the Israelis too,” Lukashenko said. “They said on behalf of Zelensky: that’s it, we’re moving toward peace, we’ve agreed. And so have others.”
It's unclear what Lukashenko really meant when he referred to the "Jewish lobby group." In the early days of the conflict, then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett acted as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv, meeting with Putin in Moscow and having numerous phone calls with Zelensky. Media reports at the time suggested Bennett had urged Zelensky to accept Moscow's terms.
Lukashenko also did not specify the Vatican's supposed role. However, in March 2022, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill had a video call in which they emphasized the "special importance" of the negotiation process.
Moscow and Kyiv held several rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in March 2022. In June 2023, Putin said Ukrainian negotiators had signed a draft treaty on permanent neutrality and security guarantees, but Kyiv later abandoned the agreement after Russian troops withdrew from areas near the Ukrainian capital.
Moscow argues that Ukraine withdrew from the agreement under pressure from the West, including then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who reportedly urged Kyiv not to sign any deal with Moscow and to "continue fighting".
Kyiv has rejected Moscow's account of the failed negotiations, although their former chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, acknowledged Johnson's role. Since then, Ukraine has formally applied for NATO membership and abandoned discussions about neutrality.
Source: https://danviet.vn/ong-lukashenko-tiet-lo-tong-thong-nga-putin-da-bi-lua-doi-d1435432.html
