Belarus Urges 'Truce' as Putin's Closest Ally Calls for War to End

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called for a "truce" in the full-scale invasion launched by his Russian counterpart against Ukraine in February 2022.

Lukashenko urged that Ukraine and Russia begin talks "without preconditions."

"We must stop now before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities...a declaration of a truce," he said during an address to the nation on Friday.

While Belarus, a loyal Kremlin ally, hasn't directly joined the Ukraine conflict, Russian troops have been allowed to do exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Last month, Lukashenko invited Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden to attend a summit in Minsk to "stop the war" in Ukraine and to prevent "further loss of life."

"All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions," he said on Friday.

The Belarusian leader lashed out at nations who have provided weapons to assist Kyiv in the war.

"As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in [Ukraine]... a third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon," he said. "I will try to risk proposing to stop the hostilities. To declare a truce without the right to move...without the right to move weapons and ammunition, manpower and equipment! For everybody just to freeze!"

Lukashenko warned that Russia felt threatened, it could use "the most terrible weapon."

"It is impossible to defeat a nuclear power. If the Russian leadership understands that the situation threatens to cause Russia's disintegration, it will use the most terrible weapon," he said. "This cannot be allowed."

On March 25, Putin announced that Russia would station nuclear weapons in Belarus, and said the move would not violate non-proliferation agreements.

Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine's national security council, responded by saying that Putin has taken Belarus "as a nuclear hostage." Russia is contributing towards "internal destabilization" in Belarus, Danilov said on Twitter.

The U.S. has said it has "not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture." A senior administration official said there were no "indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon."

Newsweek reached out to the foreign ministries of Ukraine and Russia via email for comment.

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Update 03/31/23, 8:30 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.