Belarusian President Alexander Lukasehnko said he had “no regrets” about allowing Russia use its territory to launch full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Responding to an AFP reporter’s question on Sunday about his decision to allow his closest ally Vladimir Putin invade Ukraine, Lukashenko said: "I do not regret anything." Addressing the lengthy press conference after the presidential election on that day, Lukashenko declined to say if this would be his last election, adding that he had no specific successor in mind. He also denied that the recent release of political prisoners was motivated by a desire to build ties with the west. Belarus has released 250 political prisoners since July.
Lukashenko made the remarks after Sunday’s election that extended his 31 years of rule and secured his seventh term as the president amid international condemnation. Lukashenko (70) secured 86.8% of the vote in the election where he faced no serious competition. The four opposition leaders who appeared on the ballot are loyal to the president.
The EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the “sham election” of January 26 had been “neither free, nor fair” and that the EU would maintain sanctions against Lukashenko’s “regime”. Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday that the election was a “bitter day for all those who long for freedom and democracy”. “The people of Belarus had no choice. Instead of free and fair elections and a life without fear and arbitrariness, they experience oppression, repression and human rights violations on a daily basis,” Baerbock stated.
