(Moscow) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday recognized for the first time the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014 by Moscow, as Russian and said he was planning an official trip there soon.
These remarks come against the backdrop of a deep crisis between Belarus, an ally of Moscow, and the EU, which has adopted sanctions against Minsk for the repression of an unprecedented protest movement in 2020 and which accuses Alexander Lukashenko for orchestrating a migration crisis on the Polish and Lithuanian borders.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in March 2014 after a military intervention and a referendum denounced as illegal by Kiev and the West.
“We all knew that Crimea was Russian Crimea de facto. After the referendum, Crimea became Russian de jure “Assured Alexander Lukashenko Tuesday in an interview with the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
He added that he had agreed with President Vladimir Putin to go to Crimea for a joint official visit, for which he did not give a date, saying he was waiting for a decision from the Kremlin.
“We have talked about it three times (with Vladimir Putin) and he must decide when it would be the most practical, with the warmest climate, even ideal. I told him: “When you invite me, then we will go”, ”he added.
According to Lukashenko, such a trip would amount to recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.
Alexander Lukashenko, although an ally of Moscow, had hitherto been careful not to take a categorical position in favor of Moscow in the crisis that has opposed it since 2014 to Ukraine. He only recognized the “de facto” annexation of Crimea by Russia.
He even hosted peace talks in Minsk in 2015 over eastern Ukraine, where Kiev forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists, which resulted in the signing of peace agreements.
Since his crisis with the Europeans, however, Mr Lukashenko has moved closer to Vladimir Putin, whose support is now essential to him.