Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko congratulated Ukrainians on their Independence Day on Thursday and used the opportunity to call for the end of the conflict in the country.
"Having gained independence more than three decades ago, both countries have chosen independent paths for their development, building the future, for which we must create safe opportunities for worthy coexistence of the entire region. We must use the value of our neighborhood to end confrontation," Lukashenko said as cited by the Belarusian presidency's press service. The official also assured Kiev that Minsk is "ready to do everything" to help end the war.
The tensions between the two countries have been rising since the start of the war in Ukraine as Belarus maintained good relations with Russia amid the conflict and asked for and received Russian nuclear weapons earlier this year amid fears of NATO's military buildup in the region.