Alexander Lukashenko said he recently hosted representatives of Volodymyr Zelensky in Minsk, disclosing the meeting during a visit by Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Moscow region.

“Right here, in this very spot, representatives of Zelensky were recently sitting. I told them straight: ‘Guys, tell your president that if he thinks he can talk to us like that and on top of that drag us into the war, he needs to understand that the quality of the war will change instantly. It will be a completely different war.’ And by the way, we got an answer: the president and they understand this. So let’s work things out, guys.”

Lukashenko also said there was no need to “kick up dust, no need to shout, no need to try to punch someone in the face the Russian way, and so on.” Belarus, he added, could not be drawn into the war.

“How do you fight against Ukrainians here when on the other side it’s mostly territorial troops? Are we going to shoot those tractor drivers, milkmaids, and working guys who don’t want to fight Belarusians? We don’t want to fight Ukrainians either. Our position is one of peace. But in any situation, we will stand alongside Russia.”

In mid-April, Volodymyr Zelensky said military activity in Belarus had increased and suggested that Russia might try to draw Belarus into the war against Ukraine. In June, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that Russia had stepped up pressure on Belarus this year to do just that — for example, by using Belarusian territory to expand strikes on Ukraine.

On June 19, Zelensky demanded that Alexander Lukashenko remove relay stations along the Belarus–Ukraine border which, he said, were being used to guide Russian strikes. He warned that if this was not done within a week, Ukraine would do it itself. Lukashenko did not comment publicly on Zelensky’s remarks. On June 24, Zelensky said the relay stations along the border had stopped operating.