Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin attend a welcome ceremony at the BRICS summit in Kazan on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Any attempt by Russia to annex Belarus would lead to war, the country’s dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with state-affiliated Russian newspaper Izvestia published on Friday.
Lukashenko told Izvestia that while Russia and Belarus had “a common fatherland, from Brest to Vladivostok”, Belarus must remain a sovereign state.
“First … nobody has authorised me to take that step. Second, any move by any politician in that direction would be quashed by the Belarusian people. … Us joining Russia? Out of the question. It’s impossible and impractical. I’m sorry to say that would mean war,” Lukashenko said.
Lukashenko also claimed that Putin had never had any intention of “conquering” Ukraine, adding that just because something was possible, a “wise, clever politician” always thinks about what comes next. “This isn’t the Middle Ages, where you conquer territory … and that’s that. The world has moved on. It’s different now. So there’s no point setting silly goals and you should always think about what happens next,” Lukashenko said.
Feathers were ruffled in Minsk when an internal Russian document on the country’s strategic goals with regard to Belarus was leaked to the press in February 2023. The document envisaged Belarus’ gradual absorption into Russia, with the unification process to be completed by 2030.
Such a move goes far beyond the remit of the current Union State between Russia and Belarus, which was founded in 1999. Under the auspices of the union, the countries have created a customs union and free trade zone, and aim to deepen their relationship through integration in economic and defence policy.
