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Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin,
disclosed the alleged offer to a meeting of government and law
enforcement officials at which he also accused Ukraine - without
evidence - of allowing its territory to be used by the West to train
and arm militants who could destabilise the situation in Belarus.
Lukashenko was quoted by Belta as saying:
"...They are asking us not to go to war with Ukraine in any
circumstances, not to move our troops there. They are proposing we
conclude a non-aggression pact."
It was not immediately clear from his comments whether Ukraine
itself or the West had made the alleged offer.
There was no immediate response from Kyiv, where officials have said
they are worried that Moscow may use Belarus as a launching pad for
a new attack on Ukraine from the north.
The Kremlin declined to comment "for now" on whether Lukashenko
would discuss the alleged offer with Putin.
Minsk allowed Moscow to use Belarusian territory to send troops into
Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year. Its own troops have so far not fought
in the war however, while stepping up joint military training with
Russian forces deployed in Belarus.
In the same speech, Belta cited Lukashenko as accusing Ukraine of
hosting militants who could be part of an alleged long-term Western
plan to destabilise his country.
"I don't know why the Ukrainians need this," Lukashenko was quoted
as saying. He said his security forces would respond harshly to any
threat to internal order and did not want a repeat of mass protests
against him in 2020/21 which he cast at the time as part of an
alleged Western regime change plot.
(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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