Belarus warns of Ukraine clashes spillover
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called on all sides involved in the Ukrainian crisis to do their best to end clashes in the east of the country or the violence may spread into neighboring states.
Europe, the US, Russia and Belarus should all “do their utmost to stop that war” between Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces or “there is a possibility that these phenomena may spread into the territories of Russia and Belarus," said Lukashenko in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Thursday.
Lukashenko voiced his country’s readiness to play a constructive role in solving the disagreements between the West and Russia over Ukraine’s crisis, but said he does not trust the West, adding, "I do not quite trust the Western partners. This is politics and it [politics] is a dirty business...."
Back in September 2014, Minsk hosted the representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk who finally inked a ceasefire deal to end deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine. However, the truce has been violated almost daily by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces.
The Moscow-Kiev relations have been extremely tense in recent months. Kiev and its Western allies accuse Moscow of supporting pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine, saying the Russian intervention poses a security threat to Ukraine and all other neighboring states. Russia has categorically denied the allegations.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation began in April 2014 in a bid to crush the protests.
Violence intensified in May 2014 after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
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