The Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko responded to the remarks made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who claimed that Lukashenko had apologized to him at the onset of the full-scale war. This was reported by "BelTA".
According to Lukashenko, malevolent actors from abroad are attempting to pull Belarus into the war, and they are particularly using Zelensky for this purpose.
And you know, they (the malevolent actors abroad - ed.) are pressuring. They're pushing hard. They want to drag us into this conflict. Why is Volodya Zelensky behaving this way? We had a normal relationship, a good rapport. My small family did too. What is he whining about, what does he lack? He is being given orders. He must do everything possible to drag the country into the war.
Lukashenko acknowledged that if Belarus is drawn into the war, it may "not withstand as a state".
If we are dragged into the war, it is a dire situation. We might not survive as a state... But we must endure. Let them say that we have a dictatorship here, or whatever. Listen, a dictatorship like in Belarus is better than the kind of democracy in Ukraine. We must withstand this. Under no circumstances should we flinch.
On January 6, an interview with Volodymyr Zelensky was released, where he spoke to podcaster Lex Friedman, in which the Ukrainian president stated that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Alexander Lukashenko apologized to him for the strikes from the territory of Belarus.
Zelensky asked the Belarusian dictator how he allowed missiles to be launched at Ukraine from Belarus. In response, Lukashenko suggested that he could strike the Mozyr Oil Refinery, which means "so much to him".
Lukashenko's press service denied that such a conversation took place.