Putin not pushing Belarus to enter war with Ukraine, says Lukashenko

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is not trying to push Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an online interview published on Thursday.

“To involve Belarus… what will that give? Nothing,” said Lukashenko, one of Putin’s closest allies.

Lukashenko also said he believed Russia had already achieved its goals in what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, and said the two sides should sit at the negotiating table and be ready to discuss all the issues, including the future of Crimea and other territory Moscow claims.

(Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Gareth Jones)