Deputy Foreign Minister Of Ukraine: My Advice To Belarus – Keep Those Russians Away

Ukraine has much to ask about the presence of the Russian Federation on the territory of our country.

For the moment, the Ukrainian side does not see the possibility of Belarus’s participation in the peacekeeping mission in the Donbas. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasily Bodnar at a meeting with a group of Belarusian journalists in Kiev on November 19, tut.by reports.

“This question was raised during the meeting of the presidents and was discussed by them personally. So far, the Ukrainian side does not see the possibility of Belarus’s participation in the peacekeeping mission, since this is directly related to the participation in the CSTO and the Russian military. We do not want a situation in which Russia will have sway over the territory of the conflict in its favor through Belarus,” – the diplomat said.

“We have much to ask about the presence of Russia in Belarus, but Minsk is the platform for the [trilateral] contact group, and this is a certain level of trust in the Belarusian side in terms of the peace process implementation,” – the diplomat said.

Bodnar also noted that Ukraine hopes that “our borders will be borders of friendship, and not borders of threats.”

“But potentially, – the deputy minister added, – we have to think many moves ahead, since the participation of Belarusian military formations in joint exercises with the Russians, the deployment of a certain amount of military equipment in Belarus, the creation of a joint air defense system, border control, the military base, which is always said that it is not needed, but once the topic is pushed, it means there is certain pressure from the Russian side. The question is: why does Russia need military bases on the territory of Belarus, except to threaten Ukraine or another country? Or is it a matter of control over Belarus?”

According to Boris Bodnar, the Belarusian authorities should ask themselves a question – why let foreign troops enter their territory when their own troops are enough? “Based on our experience, I note that the presence of the Russian fleet bases in Ukraine provoked the occupation of the Crimea. We could not imagine that we would fight with Russia, but today it is a reality, it is a direct threat. And my advice for the Belarusian side – keep those Russians away, they will only harm you.”