War in Ukraine, live: Russia accuses kyiv of going back on its proposals at the Istanbul talks, the WHO calls for humanitarian access to Mariupol – Le Monde

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, who has lent his territory to the Russian army, demanded on Thursday to participate in the ongoing talks between Moscow and kyiv on the “war” in Ukraine, using the term whose use has been banished by Moscow. Russia called its offensive a “special military operation” and banned the use of the terms “war” or “invasion” by the media, on pain of heavy prison sentences. which is right on the doorstep of our country. And it has serious effects on the situation in Belarus. This is why there must not be an agreement behind Belarus’s back, ”he insisted during a meeting of his security council. According to him, Moscow “understands” this position, but not the West, which has almost no relationship with Minsk, due to the massive internal repression of the opposition and its alliance with Russia. no Minsk at the negotiating table, because the Belarusian government let the Russian army launch its offensive on kyiv from Belarusian territory. For its part, Moscow has never said it wants to include Minsk in the talks, while Mr. Lukashenko is always keen to be treated on an equal footing by Russia, weaving for more than two decades between the West and the Kremlin. For Mr. Lukashenko, after the “war will come the time of rebirth and reconstruction”. However, according to him, the West will then strip Ukraine of its wealth. “You have to seek happiness among your own. I have been saying it for a long time, the three Slavic peoples [russe, biélorusse et ukrainien] must, in view of what is happening in the world, sit down at the table and agree. Equal to equal,” he said.