MINSK, October 4. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that if the Poles try lay hands on the west of Ukraine, Belarus will support the Ukrainians.

According to the BelTA news agency, the Belarusian leader noted that Poland's claims were based on the wish to grab the western part of Ukraine.

"Both Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. And to dominate there. This is unacceptable for us. If only the Poles get into Ukraine and try to grab its western part, we will support the Ukrainians. We are well aware that we'll be next," said Lukashenko during a trip to the westernmost Brest Region.

He is certain that Poland pursues its own selfish interests in Ukraine. The attitude of the Polish elites to Ukraine is well-known, he said, while the main stumbling block between the two countries now is the Volhynia massacre - the mass extermination of the Polish population by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during World War II.