Putin wants Lukashenko to confront NATO so he can negotiate with Alliance on equal terms  - diplomat Chaly

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the USA 2015-2019 Valery Chaly has suggested that Russian president Vladimir Putin wants to confront the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexandr Lukashenko, with NATO, to help Russia negotiate with the Alliance on an equal footing.

The diplomat shared the details in the 'Verdict with Sergiy Rudenko' program on Espreso.

"Putin can quite realistically resort to provocation by the hands of Belarus, raise the stakes and then come to an agreement. But not with Ukraine, but with the North Atlantic Alliance. This is exactly what Russia wants. Therefore, provocations by Putin at the hands of the Belarusians should not be ruled out. But the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko  already felt where everything was going. He understood what Putin wanted from him and began to back off," Chaly noted.

The diplomat suggested that Putin would not dare to threaten NATO countries.

"Threats to NATO countries are not the same as threats to Ukraine. All the leaders and the Secretary General of the Alliance made it clear to Russia: just move, just an inch of land and you will get a response from all NATO countries. Therefore, the Russians will not crawl anywhere. Bunker president will not dare," noted Valery Chaly.