Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a press conference in Moscow.
Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images
Alexander Lukashenko has warned that the Ukraine war could spill over into a global conflict.
Lukashenko baselessly accused the West of perpetuating a “multi-polar world order.”
He said the world could be plunged into “the abyss of a big war where there will be no winner.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a known ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, warned on Tuesday that there could be a major global conflict on the horizon.
Speaking at a ceremony for Belarusian officials and top military school graduates, he accused the US and western nations of perpetuating a “multi-polar world order” and bolstering “openly fascist regimes,” reported the state-run media outlet Belta. Lukashenko’s comments parroted Putin’s baseless claims that the Ukrainian government is fascist.
Per Belta, the Belarusian leader also posited without substantiation that Europe “does not decide anything” and is “under Washington’s thumb,” cautioning Ukraine’s military not to lower its guard. Lukashenko also accused the West of trying to “sow chaos and destroy” his country.
“Unfortunately, such a policy of the West is bringing the world closer to the abyss of a big war where there will be no winner,” Lukashenko said, per Belta.
“The events that are unfolding around Belarus and Russia today require extreme vigilance and concentration,” Lukashenko added, per the outlet, referring to the Ukraine war. “Led by the United States, the Western countries have been destroying the system of global security consistently, methodically and even against their own national interests and wishes of the peoples.”
Lukashenko also echoed Putin’s criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, in particular the Russian leader’s view of Sweden and Finland’s decision to join the alliance.
“Apparently, the newly-minted ‘crusaders’ of the North Atlantic Alliance suddenly decided that the time is right for another ‘Drang nach Osten’, forgetting how similar campaigns ended for their historical predecessors,” Lukashenko said, alleging that NATO’s defensive military exercises are examples of a growing “strike force.”
By “Drang nach Osten” — which means “spread to the east” in German — Lukashenko referenced to a term used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler as part of his plan to acquire Slavic territory for German “living space” and the impetus for Nazi conflict in eastern Europe.
Earlier this month, Lukashenko also said he believed it was time for a “forgetful” Europe to face a “moral cleansing.”
The Belarusian leader, however, is not the only influential figure to have warned of another global war. In May, hedge fund billionaire George Soros said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to World War III.