By Mark Trevelyan
June 25 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday he had warned Ukraine, against a background of rising tensions, not to try to drag his country into war.
With Moscow's forces struggling to advance and Ukraine raining drones on targets far inside Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly alleged that Moscow wants to get Belarus more involved on the Russian side.
He raised the stakes last week by threatening to disable signal relay stations in Belarus that he said were helping Russian drones to hit Ukraine. On Wednesday, he said the stations had stopped working, although there was no independent confirmation.
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in televised comments that Zelenskiy's representatives had been in Minsk recently.
LUKASHENKO SAYS BELARUS DOESN'T WANT TO FIGHT UKRAINIANS
"I told them bluntly: 'Guys, tell your president: if he thinks he can talk to us like that - and drag us into a war to boot - then he needs to understand that the nature of the war would change instantly'," Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus had no desire to fight Ukrainians.
"We received a reply: the president and his team understand this. So, let's reach an agreement, guys. We need to reach a substantive agreement."
There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.
Belarus is strategically important to all sides, being closely allied to Moscow and sharing borders with Russia, Ukraine and three NATO states.
That significance was underlined last year when the United States re-engaged with Lukashenko after shunning contact with him for years, and began to ease sanctions on Belarus in return for the release of political prisoners.
But political analysts are sceptical that the U.S. can succeed in driving a wedge between Lukashenko and Putin, given Belarus's dependence on its much larger neighbour.
KREMLIN DENIES PRESSURE ON BELARUS TO EXPAND WAR
The Kremlin on Thursday denied a Wall Street Journal report that Russia wanted to use Belarus as a springboard to step up attacks on Ukraine, and was threatening to cut financial support if it refused.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the report "does not correspond to reality" and that Belarus was "our closest ally".
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said it was the West that was stoking tension.
"The situation along our borders is extremely unstable, and escalating. Beyond our borders, NATO troop formations are being reinforced, infrastructure is being upgraded, the military budgets of neighbouring states are expanding, and politicians are making strident militaristic statements," he said in a speech to graduating officers.
"Efforts are under way to prolong, and even expand, the hot conflict unleashed by the West in Ukraine. Today, we are acutely aware of a blatant attempt to drag Belarus into the war."
European states vehemently deny Russian allegations that they are responsible for the war in Ukraine, against which Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
RUSSIA NEEDS BELARUS REFINERIES
While Lukashenko has not sent Belarusian troops to fight alongside Russia, he let Putin use Belarus as a launchpad to invade Ukraine, and later agreed to let Russia station tactical nuclear missiles on Belarusian territory.
Belarus also conducts frequent joint military exercises with Russia and allows Moscow to use its bases and training grounds.
While Moscow is the dominant partner, it also relies on Belarus, which has two large refineries, to process Russian oil and sell gasoline, diesel and jet fuel back to Russia.
That supply loop has become increasingly important this year as Ukraine has intensified attacks on oil refineries in Russia, creating widespread fuel shortages.
In the first five months of this year, rail shipments of gasoline from Belarusian refineries to Russia surged nearly 13-fold compared to the same period last year, while shipments of Belarusian diesel tripled, according to Reuters sources.
(Additional reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow and Maxim Rodionov in London; Writing by Mark Trevelyan)
