Belarus

MINSK, March 31. /TASS/: Negotiations on settling the Ukraine crisis should start as soon as possible, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in his address to the nation and the parliament on Friday.

"It is necessary to start the negotiations today, not tomorrow. Today, while it is possible. It is necessary to stop now until an escalation begins," the Belarusian leader stressed.

MINSK, March 13. /TASS/: Belarus and Iran have similar positions and approaches to many issues on the international agenda, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday after talks with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi.

"It is encouraging that we have similar positions and approaches to many issues on the international agenda. Most importantly, Belarus and Iran are committed to the idea of creating a fair multipolar world," BelTA quoted Lukashenko as saying.

MINSK, March 7. /TASS/: The sabotage attack that took place at the Machulishchy airfield near Minsk and targeted the A-50 early warning and control aircraft of the Russian Air Force couldn’t have happened without the consent of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.

MINSK, March 6. /TASS/: The Minsk City Court has sentenced in absentia former Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to 15 years in a general penal colony, TASS reports from the courtroom.

Tikhanovskaya was "sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment with a fine of 800 base amounts to the tune of 29,600 [Belarusian] rubles (about 787,000 rubles, $10,407) to be served in a general penal colony ," judge Pyotr Orlov read out the verdict.

MINSK, February 28. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in China on a state visit on Tuesday. According to the BelTA agency, his plane landed at Beijing airport.

It is expected that the Belarusian leader will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in private and with other officials taking part. Meetings with top Chinese officials and the leadership of major Chinese corporations are on the agenda. A large package of documents on relations in key areas will be signed.

MINSK, February 23. /TASS/: Russia advocates an end to the Ukraine conflict, but the peace solution depends on the US’ actions, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Chinese media on Thursday.

"I am 100% convinced that Russians tend to want this conflict to end. Everything is up to the Americans. Make (the United States - TASS) practical steps toward peace, and there will be peace," he said in a video excerpt that was published by Pool One, a Telegram channel close to his press service.

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Belarus on Friday condemned as "catastrophic" a decision by Poland to close a border checkpoint between the two countries, saying it could lead to a collapse on both sides of the border.

Poland said on Thursday, citing security concerns, it would close a key border crossing into Belarus at Bobrowniki, starting at 12 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Friday, driving already hostile relations between the two countries to a new low.

MINSK, February 7. /TASS/: Belarus believes that discussions of Ukraine in the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly should be based on Russian position, rather than some "contrived simulacrums," Andrey Savinykh, chairman of the permanent commission on foreign affairs at the Belarusian legislature, told TASS on Tuesday.

MINSK, February 5. /TASS/: Belarusian and Russian Presidents, Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin, have agreed to appoint a date for their meeting soon, the Belarusian president’s press service said on Sunday after their telephone call.

"They agreed on the following: to appoint a date of their meeting soon. Its key goal will be to control the implementation by the two governments of the instructions issued by the presidents earlier. First of all, in the sphere of import substitution in all areas of anti-sanction cooperation," it said.

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that he had been asked to conclude a non-aggression pact with Ukraine, the Belta state news agency reported, citing comments that suggested he saw Kyiv as a potential threat.

Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, disclosed the alleged offer to a meeting of government and law enforcement officials at which he also accused Ukraine - without evidence - of allowing its territory to be used by the West to train and arm militants who could destabilise the situation in Belarus.