Belarus

MINSK, March 1. /TASS/: Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that signs of the West’s preparations for an aggression against Belarus and Russia have been in sight for a long time.

Feb 28 (Reuters) - About 800 people were arrested as Belarus voted to ditch its non-nuclear status in a referendum that raises the stakes at a time when the country has become a staging ground for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government said on Monday.

The vote sparked the biggest protests in months as thousands took to the streets in Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has imposed a sweeping crackdown on dissent after a contested election challenged his grip on power in 2020.

LVIV, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian delegation has arrived at the border with Belarus for talks on Monday with Russian representatives that will focus on achieving an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement.

The delegation includes Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak among others, it said.

MINSK, February 27. /TASS/. Belarus will turn to Russia with a request to return nuclear weapons to it if the United States deploys them in Poland or Lithuania, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced on Sunday.

According to Lukashenko, he mentioned this possibility during the conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. "If the United States, or France … transfer nuclear weapons to Poland, to Lithuania, to our borders, … I will appeal to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to return the weapons that I once gave without any preconditions," Lukashenko said.

MINSK, February 16. /TASS/: The situation around Ukraine is being artificially inflamed by those who do not want Russia to play a decisive role in ensuring security in the world, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makey said at a press conference on Wednesday.

MINSK, February 11. /TASS/: Russian Su-35S fighters and Belarusian Su-30SM fighter jets practiced intercepting intruder aircraft during flights near Baranovichi in the Brest Region of Belarus in the Union Resolve 2022 joint drills, the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"In the air, the pilots practiced several elements: intercepting an intruder aircraft and conducting an aerial battle," the ministry said in a statement.

08 Feb 2022; MEMO: The President of Belarus denied on Tuesday reports claiming that his country intends to send 200 soldiers to Syria to serve alongside Russian forces there. Alexander Lukashenko told the Belarusian Security Council that the reports that the Russian government had decided to send Belarus forces to Syria were not true.

MINSK, February 7. /TASS/: The Belarusian authorities are considering arming some of their Emergencies Ministry’s staff to brace for a potential conflict or hostilities, the state-run BelTA news agency reported on Monday, referring to a meeting chaired by the republic’s head of state on improving the ministry’s structure.

These measures are underway to enable the Emergencies Ministry’s staff to engage in military operations along with the republic’s army in the event of a conflict or hostilities, the news agency reported.

MINSK, February 5. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will be ready to step down if the situation in the country stabilizes, as he himself said in an interview with Vladimir Soloviev for the Soloviev Live YouTube channel.

MINSK, February 3. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko received the credentials of new Russian Ambassador Boris Gryzlov and diplomats from seven other countries on Thursday, the BelTA news agency said on Thursday.

According to BelTA, the envoys of Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, Laos, Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Chad and Sri Lanka presented their credentials to the Belarusian leader.