ISTANBUL

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday said that peace in Ukraine will come once Kyiv and Washington decide that it is needed.

Speaking to reporters in Moscow following an annual military parade on the occasion of Russia’s Victory Day, Lukashenko said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “does not owe anything to anyone,” responding to a question on whether Putin should now agree to a truce.

“As for the truce, I can say it in his words. We talked about this with him last time in Volgograd. They are ready for this. Russia has long been ready not just for a truce, but for peace,” Lukashenko was quoted as saying in a statement by his country’s presidency.

He argued that issues concerning the settlement of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war are not in Moscow but rather “from the other side."

“As soon as the Americans and Ukrainians decide that peace is needed, the Europeans will fall into line and peace will come,” Lukashenko went on to say.

The Belarusian president also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s participation in the May 9 parade in Moscow is not only symbolic, but that it is also “very important for the future of the world.”

“This suggests that China and Russia will continue to develop and strengthen their alliance,” he said, adding the visit also shows that Beijing will “definitely” stand by Moscow, despite all the carefulness and caution in politics.”

Earlier, Moscow’s Red Square hosted an annual military parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory Day.

The holiday is celebrated in Russia and other countries, including some former Soviet states such as Belarus, to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany during World War II – a conflict Moscow calls the Great Patriotic War.