MINSK, October 17. /TASS/. Ukraine itself gave cause for Crimea’s accession to Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Russian reporters at a news conference on Friday.
Lukashenko said despite the wrongful in principle transfer of territory, another question arises, "Why Russia took this step and who is to blame for this?"
“I told the Ukrainians, Do you consider Crimea yours? If so, why haven’t you fought for Crimea, why have you surrendered it to Russia without a single shot? This means you don’t consider it your territory,” he said. “Second, why have you spearheaded the revolution against our people — Russian speakers. Why have you started to ban the (Russian) language, did you have no other problems to address?” “And third, you wanted to deploy NATO units in Crimea,” the Belarusian president said.
“Therefore, you should blame not Russia, but yourselves,” Lukashenko said. “You at the least gave cause for Crimea’s accession to the Russian Federation. So you are to blame for this, not Russia,” the Belarusian president said.
Lukashenko is confident that Russia has to support Ukraine’s south-east. “Our brothers live there, and Russia cannot leave them in trouble,” Lukashenko told a news conference for Russian reporters on Friday. “It is quite clear that a war cannot be unleashed there, and Russia will go to great lengths to avoid an open confrontation,” the Belarusian president said.
Certain states want the fraternal peoples “to kill each other with their own hands,” Lukashenko said. “By doing so, we will help certain players in the international arena and we will please them,” he said. “A global whirlpool is being created in the center of Europe, which will be drawing us into this massacre and into this war,” Lukashenko said. “I cannot accept this war and not only because people die there. That is of crucial importance and that is a reason for a global conflict,” he said.
The accords reached in Minsk “are a blessing since the peace process is underway despite some shooting,” Lukashenko said. The process could go ahead faster “had not it been for parliamentary elections in Ukraine,” he said.