Belarus “would do well to advise” that it not go to war in Ukraine, the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, warned on Tuesday, alluding to the possibility of sanctions.
“The issue will surely be on the agenda of the G7 discussions” which meet virtually on Tuesday in an emergency, the day after massive Russian attacks across Ukraine, Catherine Colonna told France Inter.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine on Monday of preparing “terrorist” attacks and an “uprising” in his country, and announced the deployment of a “regional” military group with Moscow.
“We must issue a warning to this country”
Minsk “would be well advised” not to go to war, said Catherine Colonna.
The minister recalled that Belarus was already under sanctions since the 2020 presidential elections, considered “fraudulent” by the countries of the European Union, and that the country’s complicity in the Russian invasion of Ukraine had increased the restrictions.
“We must issue a warning to this country. Any additional support for Russia’s war in Ukraine will lead to additional sanctions,” he said.
Belarus, Russia’s ally in its conflict with Ukraine, has already lent its territory to Moscow for its offensive against Ukraine, but the Belarusian army has so far not taken part in the fighting on Ukrainian territory.
Nineteen people were killed and more than 100 wounded in Monday’s Russian campaign of attacks across Ukraine, including kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified these attacks as retaliation for the “terrorist” attack committed according to him by Ukraine against the bridge that connects Russian territory with Crimea (south), the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Source: BFM TV
