Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of a peace deal in early 2022 before it was derailed, the Belarusian president has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was deceived into withdrawing Russian Army troops from near Kyiv in 2022 by forces claiming to represent Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.

Speaking in an interview with Al Arabiya, Lukashenko said the conflict could have ended quickly in the early stages in spring 2022, when Russian forces were near the Ukrainian capital.

‘At the time, not only I, but everyone in the world understood that the war would end quickly with a Russian victory. This was primarily because the Russians were already in Kiev,’ the Belarusian leader said.

Lukashenko claimed, however, that certain politicians and forces asked Putin to stop, pull the troops back from Kiev, and conclude a peace agreement.

‘Before that withdrawal, everyone understood that Ukraine’s days were numbered.’

The Belarusian president argued that Russia was acting on what appeared to be a genuine opportunity to reach a settlement, adding: ‘Judge for yourselves who was right and who was wrong in this matter.’

‘Once again, probably, these forces deceived him. It was the Vatican. And surprisingly, the Jewish lobby, the Israelis,’ Lukashenko said. 

‘They said on behalf of Zelensky: That’s it, we are moving toward peace, we agree. And others as well.’

It was not immediately clear what exactly Lukashenko meant by the Jewish lobby. 

In the early days of the conflict, then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett acted as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, meeting Putin in Moscow and holding phone calls with Zelensky. Media reports at the time claimed that Bennett urged Zelensky to accept Moscow’s terms.  Let readers know what you think.

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