MINSK
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned on Sunday that the recent return to office of his US counterpart Donald Trump could create “problems” for Europe, rather than for Belarus.
“As soon as he won the election, you (in Europe) scrambled across the Atlantic. Some crawled, some along the bottom, some on top. Now you don’t know how to approach Trump,” Lukashenko told journalists in the capital Minsk after casting his vote in the country’s presidential election. Lukashenko, Belarus’ first and only president since 1994, is seeking another term in Sunday’s poll.
“You face a tough future, Europe. With Trump’s return, the problems won’t be in Belarus, they will be in Europe. They’ve already begun,” he added.
Lukashenko argued that following Trump’s inauguration last week, the US will position Europe in a way that will leave it “unable to recover for many decades or centuries.”
On European Union criticisms of Belarus’ election, Lukashenko dismissed it as “submission to Washington.”
On Wednesday, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the EU to reject the Belarusian election, labeling it a “sham.”
“Whether you recognize these elections in the EU or not is a matter of taste,” Lukashenko said. “The main thing is that the Belarusians recognize the elections and that they end peacefully, as they began.”
He also emphasized the country’s willingness to engage in dialogue with the EU, suggesting Europe has a “reasonable path” in shaping its policy.
He denied claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that in the early days of the war, Lukashenko had told him in a phone call to retaliate against Russian airstrikes from Belarusian territory by targeting the Mozyr Oil Refinery.
‘We are supporters of peace in Ukraine’
Lukashenko expressed hope for a “light at the end of the tunnel” on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, stressing that resolving the conflict is crucial for Europe.
“We are supporters of peace in Ukraine. We must take everything into account, including Russia’s position. No America will ever force Russia … And if Trump tries, it will be harmful,” he said.
He added that Belarus and Russia have distinct interests and that Minsk’s involvement in the negotiations is not driven by “personal ambitions.”
Lukashenko said a compromise would need to be reached between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that Trump’s unpredictability could lead to an “illogical decision” on Ukraine.
“If we proceed logically and use established criteria for resolving such issues, the Americans will never agree to meet Russia’s demands. It’s not in their interest. But Trump is unpredictable. He might surprise us and go for what he promised: peace,” he argued.
Lukashenko concluded by labeling the recent dialogue between Armenia and the EU as a “very dangerous game,” and emphasized that the future of global multipolarity depends on China.
