Worsening situation in Ukraine may encourage Kiev to talk with Moscow, says Belarusian diplomat.

TASS - The worsening situation in Ukraine could lead Kiev to negotiate with Moscow, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told Izvestia on Friday (14).

"Negotiations can only succeed if there is political will from all parties involved. Unless this happens, there will be no success, no matter where the negotiations are held – in Belarus, Turkey, or even Antarctica. Unfortunately, I don't see any political will today, at least not on the Ukrainian side. I am pessimistic about this and I think only a worsening of the situation in the country could lead to the decision to negotiate," Makei said in an interview with Izvesia, commenting on a recent proposal by the Chairperson of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, for Ukrainian and Russian lawmakers to sit down and negotiate. The Speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament said on October 6 that Ukrainian parliamentarians had ignored her invitation.

Belarus's foreign policy chief said that his country's authorities have always viewed negotiations as the only way out of conflicts like the current one in Ukraine.

Earlier, Makei told Izvestia that an anti-terrorist operation had been declared in Belarus after reports emerged about provocations being plotted in the country by several of its neighbors. Speaking at a security meeting on Monday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that "today, Ukraine is not only discussing but planning attacks on Belarusian territory." Although he said that Ukrainians themselves "absolutely don't need this," they "are being pushed by their patrons to unleash a war against Belarus" to drag Belarusians into the conflict and "deal with Russia and Belarus simultaneously."

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