Ukraine is doing everything possible so that the Ukrainians, who were illegally and unreasonably imprisoned in Belarus, would be released, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“I know the names of Ukrainians who were illegally and unreasonably thrown behind bars in Belarus. We are doing our best for them to be treated with dignity while they are behind bars and to be released. We have not severed contacts, we have an embassy and an ambassador in Belarus. Protecting the interests of Ukrainians suffering from the repressions of the Belarusian regime is their main task at the moment,” Kuleba said.
The Ukrainian Foreign minister noted that he is in favor of strengthening the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
“If Belarusians for Russian money strengthen the security of the border with Ukraine, I will cross myself and I will also thank them for this, because a threat may come to us from there. We ourselves will strengthen the border with Belarus. If they also intend to do this, God will help them. We need a safe northern border in a new political reality, in which Belarus fully associates itself with the Russian Federation,” he explained.
Thus, Kuleba commented on the statement of Alexander Lukashenko that Belarus will buy weapons from Russia for more than $1 billion and intends to close the border with Ukraine with these weapons.
“I think that, unfortunately, the official explanation of what Belarus will do on the border does not correspond to reality, because they just need this step in order to emphasize that Ukraine seems to pose a threat to Belarus. But Ukraine poses no threat to Belarus,” the minister said.
The head of the foreign policy department noted that he already sees at least two real threats that may come from Belarus to Ukraine.
“The first threat is a potential military threat. I deliberately say potential, because so far we do not see direct signs of preparation for military aggression there. The second threat is a repetition of the migration crises that Belarus has arranged with Lithuania and Poland. It is clear that Ukraine is of less interest, because we will still catch asylum seekers in the EU. And if they even get into the EU, according to the readmission agreement, we will accept them back. But still, this is a crisis and a problem. Therefore, I am in favor of strengthening the Belarusian-Ukrainian border,” Kuleba said.
