May 24th 2024.
During his visit to Minsk on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Belarusian counterpart and close ally, Alexander Lukashenko, for talks. One of the main topics of discussion was the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Putin raised concerns about the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate on behalf of his country.
According to Putin, Russia is open to holding talks about the conflict, but he pointed out that Zelensky's five-year term in office was set to end on May 20. However, Zelensky has refused to hold new elections while the country is at war, which Putin seemed to overlook in his remarks to the media. He failed to acknowledge that Ukrainian legislation prohibits elections during martial law, which has been in place since Russia's invasion in February 2022. This means that the law would need to be amended for elections to take place during a state of war.
This issue of Zelensky's legitimacy has been repeatedly brought up by Russian officials in the past week. During a news conference in Minsk, Putin stated, "Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state has ended." He emphasized the need to ensure that they are dealing with legitimate authorities in Ukraine.
However, Zelensky has rejected Russia's preconditions for talks, which include allowing them to keep the territory they have taken since the 2022 invasion. In June, an international peace conference on Ukraine will be held in Switzerland, but Russia has not been invited and Putin has dismissed its importance.
This trip to Belarus is one of several foreign visits that Putin has made since beginning his fifth term in office on May 7. He has already been to China and is expected to visit Uzbekistan on Sunday. Russia and Belarus have a close relationship and are working towards forming a "union state."
In recent years, Belarus has given Russia permission to deploy their tactical nuclear weapons and troops along the border with Ukraine. In 2023, Russia moved some of these weapons to Belarus. Unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles, which can cause widespread destruction, tactical nuclear weapons are designed for use on the battlefield and are less powerful. By having them in Belarus, Russia can quickly and easily reach targets in Ukraine if they decide to use them.
Belarus, which relies on Russian loans and cheap energy, has also been used as a staging ground for the war in Ukraine. The two countries have even held military drills involving tactical nuclear weapons earlier this month. Moscow claimed that these drills, which were announced publicly for the first time on May 6, were in response to statements from Western officials about potential deeper involvement in the conflict. Belarus also launched their own military exercises on May 7, which included missiles and warplanes capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
