• Alexander Lukashenko and  Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone on Friday.
• Despite Lukashenko’s recent statement that his country would not send troops to Ukraine.
• “Listen, God forbid that we have a relationship that it always be like that.”

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for a considerable amount of time on Friday, the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I’ll tell you a secret, last night we talked with him for a long time on various topics,” Lukashenko told reporters, according to media.

“Listen, God forbid that we have a relationship that it always be like that.”

It follows Lukashenko’s recent statement that his country would “never” send soldiers into Ukraine unless it was being attacked, which was made in response to concerns that Russia’s close ally would aid in Moscow’s spring onslaught.

“We are peaceful people. We know what war is and we don’t want war,” the authoritarian leader Lukashenko, who has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said at a small gathering of journalists from international media, including reputed media outlet, at Minsk’s Palace of Independence

“There is no way we are going to send our troops to Ukraine unless you are going to commit aggression against Belarus,” Lukashenko said. “But don’t forget Russia is our ally, legally, morally and politically,” he added.

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