Belarus ready to play role in peaceful Ukrainian settlement - Lukashenko

MINSK. Oct 14 (Interfax) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he believes that Belarus will have a certain role in the peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

"I believe that Belarus as Russia's closest ally has a certain role in resolving the Ukraine crisis, as well as in building a regional security architecture. The Americans saw us in this process. We have concrete opportunities and potential," Lukashenko said at a meeting in Minsk on Tuesday.

"If the Americans want to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and see some small role for us there, we are ready to participate in this," Lukashenko was quoted by his press service as saying.

"We have stated our position: peace, peace and only peace. Ukraine should exist as a sovereign independent state. We want the war to be stopped now, otherwise this independent sovereign state will disappear," Lukashenko said.

Belarus wants to see Ukraine as an independent state that should be peaceful and not create problems and threats to anyone, he said. "We are for this, we are for peace, and we are ready to work in this regard," Lukashenko said.

He also said that the Russian leadership is aiming to establish peace in Ukraine.

"No Tomahawks will solve the issue. This will escalate the situation to a nuclear war. Probably, this is best understood by [U.S. President] Donald Trump, who is in no hurry to hand over these lethal weapons and allow them to strike deep into Russia, as [Ukrainian] President Zelensky expects," Lukashenko said.