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President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko PHOTO: Reuters
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Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said today that Minsk had absolutely no interest in war and that conflict could only erupt if Belarus or its close ally Russia were directly attacked, Reuters reported.
Lukashenko said this in an address to the people and parliament, to deputies and civil servants. Moscow and Minsk are preparing to hold joint military exercises in Belarus, north of Ukraine, next month, which are causing concern in the West amid a gathering of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border, BTA reports.
The Belarusian leader said the exercises would help Minsk identify where it needs to concentrate and that Belarus needs to defend its southern border with Ukraine.
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