Belarusian president calls Ukraine 'testing ground for shaping future world order'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Wednesday called Ukraine "a testing ground for shaping the future world order."

Speaking at the All-Belarusian Congress, a meeting of representatives of all branches of power aimed to assess the results of the previous five years of work, Lukashenko said all nuclear powers are indirectly fighting on Ukraine's territory today.

The Belarusian leader anticipated a dramatic resolution of the Ukrainian conflict that "will not preserve the old world order."

"Everyone who looks at the Ukrainian and other geopolitical tragedies, even if they do not speak out loud, understands that those who are ready to serve any master for handouts, sooner or later lose," he said.

Lukashenko rejected criticism regarding the deployment of the Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, pointing out that the US "are rapidly modernizing their tactical nuclear weapons, which are stored at European air bases."

"And the deployment in Western Europe on a permanent basis of more than 60,500 servicemen of the US armed forces and more than 30,000 NATO soldiers - what is this? ... What political decisions will European leaders make at gunpoint of the American military group?" he questioned.

The Belarusian leader said he sees attempts to drag his nation into the war through different provocations.

"While they are provoking us, digging trenches, modernizing military infrastructure, weapons, we are building a peaceful life here on the other side of the border -- we are not building walls, we are not digging trenches. But our love of peace is not pacifism, I ask you not to confuse it," he stressed.

As threats grow, the republic will take symmetrical measures and increase its combat power, he warned.

In 2023, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said Russian nuclear weapons were deployed in his country as Minsk is concerned with the West's support for Kyiv, as well as NATO’s expansion.