Belarus leader proposes trilateral cooperation with Russia, N. Korea
- 15 September, 04:57
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has suggested creating a three-way cooperation between Belarus, Russia and North Korea.
Addressing a meeting hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Lukashenko voiced his country’s readiness to join the Kremlin’s efforts to revive alliance with Pyongyang.
“I think that we can think about trilateral cooperation. North Korea, Russia… I know that Koreans have a great interest in cooperation with Russia,” Lukashenko said. “I think there will be some work for Belarus. Taking into account the problems that exist,” he added.
The meeting between two allies in Black Sea resort city of Sochi took place only two days after Putin met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the Vostochny Cosmodrome, in Russia’s far east.
The meeting came amid US concerns that Kremlin and Pyongyang were “actively advancing” in a potential arms deal between the two countries that face international isolation over North Korea’s ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The summit between the two leader ended without concluding any arms deal.
The meeting also saw Kim Jong Un embrace Russia’s position in Ukraine war. “I will always be standing with Russia,” the North Korean leader said. In response, Putin signaled a willingness to assist Pyongyan with its satellite and space programme.
Speaking to Putin in Sochi on Friday, Lukashenko said it was “nice to see” him meet with Kim, before touting a Minsk-Moscow-Pyongyang alliance.
Increasingly isolated in the international community due to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has been searching for allies. His close ally Lukashenko was this week criticized by the European Union that called him “an accomplice” to Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.
