Belarus president didn't expect war 'to drag on'

Belarus president didn't expect war ‘to drag on’ - Lukashenko

The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, is one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies. He has long given his backing to Russia's invasion, allowing troops to advance from his country's border when it began, Qazet.az reports.

But he has said he hadn't expected the operation to "drag on this way".

In an interview with the Associated Press news agency Mr Lukashenko said that Russia's leader had had no choice but to act because Ukraine was "provoking Russia".

But he said: "I am not immersed in this problem enough to say whether it goes according to plan, like the Russians say, or like I feel it.

"I want to stress one more time: I feel like this operation has dragged on."

Mr Lukashenko also said he wanted the war to end, saying Belarus had "done and are doing everything" to stop it.