Lukashenko: Ukraine should do everything possible to hold elections in Donbas
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes that Ukraine should hold elections in the Donbas in order to end the conflict.
"All the leadership (of Ukraine), not only the president, who is trying to do something there (his legacy is difficult) (...) should take unpopular steps and hold these elections today in order to go take control of the border with Russia, so that it would be the Ukrainian border, these 400 km," Lukashenko said in an interview with Mir TV channel.
He believes that after the elections, Ukraine will be able to restore territorial integrity in the Donbas.
"But it will not be easy, because the elites and the leadership of Ukraine are too divided. The president might have taken some steps, but he's not going to be allowed, he's going to be swept away. We need to sit down, use your head and think how to do it, so that, let's be frank, Russia could save face, and that the massacre does not begin," Lukashenko added.
According to him, Ukraine should decide what steps to take, because the armed conflict is taking place on its territory.
"You can blame Russia as much as you want, but if Russia makes any steps in this direction, we need to move in the direction of solving this issue. And to take this chance, until Russia has not forgotten, has not shrugged it off and is conducting a dialogue on this topic," he stressed.
Lukashenko believes that the U.S. position should also be taken into account when discussing the Donbas issue.