MINSK, August 8. /TASS/. If Russia and Ukraine strike a proper deal, there can be lasting peace between the two countries, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Time magazine aired by the Pervyi Informatsionnyi TV channel.

"With some careful negotiating and both sides making concessions, Russia will never again be at war with Ukraine. Never," Lukashenko asserted.

Speaking of the settlement terms, the Belarusian leader expressed hope that no demilitarized zone will be needed. "An agreement is possible that there will be a demilitarized - but, more properly, - a militarized zone of one, two or five kilometers on both sides. That's horrible. <...> A kind of no-man's land. But I hope that it won't come to that. There will be an ordinary border," he said.