Belarus

MINSK, June 17. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has cautioned the Ukrainian authorities against possible attacks on Russian cities, the BelTA news agency said on Friday.

"Ukrainians, Zelensky are asking for long-range weapons to hit Russian cities such as Kursk, Rostov, Orel, Belgorod and neighboring cities. But I once said in public that under no circumstances must it be done," Lukashenko said at a meeting with employees of the Belshina tire plant in Bobruisk on Friday, as BelTA reported.

May 16 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday urged other members of a Russian-dominated military alliance to stand united, and accused the West of hoping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine to try to weaken Russia as much as possible.

Lukashenko, speaking at a summit of the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Moscow, said "hellish sanctions" against his country and Russia could have been avoided if the group had spoken with one voice.

May 10 (Reuters) - Belarus will deploy special operations troops in three areas near its southern border with Ukraine, the armed forces said on Tuesday as President Alexander Lukashenko talked up the role of Russian-made missiles in boosting the country's defences.

A close ally of Russia, Belarus said in March that its armed forces were not taking part in what Moscow calls its "special operation" in Ukraine, but it did serve as a launchpad for Russia to send thousands of troops across the border on Feb. 24.

May 4 (Reuters) - The armed forces of Belarus began sudden large-scale drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, the defence ministry of Ukraine's neighbour said.

Belarus is a close ally of Russia, which invaded Ukraine in late February immediately after holding joint drills with Minsk which had allowed it to move more forces closer to the Ukrainian border. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".

MINSK, April 7. /TASS/: A whole historical era came to an end with the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. A new "watershed" is emerging between the East and the West, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting of the Security Council on Thursday.

"There are no doubts that with the launch of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine a whole historical era came to an end. Amid the growing confrontation between the leading actors a new watershed between the East and the West is emerging," Lukashenko said.

MINSK, March 17./TASS/: Russia offers Ukraine an absolutely acceptable option for a treaty, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Japanese TBS TV channel, cited in part by BelTA news agency.

"Russia offers Ukraine an absolutely acceptable version of a treaty, I know this for sure. And it is still possible now to see Ukraine and Russia agree and [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky sign this treaty with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," the Belarusian leader said.

MINSK, March 15. /TASS/: The updated Belarusian constitution, adopted at a nationwide referendum on February 27, came into force on Tuesday. The constitutional amendments to the Basic Law of the country were supported by 82.86% of voters, and a total of 78.63% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the referendum.

March 13 (Reuters) - Russian and Ukrainian officials gave their most upbeat assessments yet on Sunday of progress in their talks on the war in Ukraine, suggesting there could be positive results within days.

Separately, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Russia was showing signs of willingness to engage in substantive negotiations about ending a conflict in which thousands have died. More than 2.5 million people have fled.

Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate, but not to surrender or accept any ultimatums.

MINSK, March 4. /TASS/: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko believes that the West is interested in a prolonged war in Ukraine in order to drown Russia and Belarus in the turmoil. He was speaking at a special ceremony on the occasion of signing into law the decisions adopted in a national referendum on Friday.

BELOVEZHSKAYA PUSHCHA /Belarus/, March 3./TASS/: The Ukrainian delegation has arrived by helicopters to the venue of talks with Russia in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, TASS reports from the site.

Earlier on Thursday, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said the talks would be held in the Brest Region of Belarus, as planned. They were expected to kick off at 15:00 Moscow time.