23.Speaking on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Lukashenko dismissed reports that North Korea had sent its soldiers to aid Russia's war effort, describing them as "rubbish.""Knowing his character (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would never try to persuade another country to involve its army in Russia’s special operation in Ukraine," he said."It would be a step towards the escalation of the conflict if the armed forces of any country, even Belarus, were on the contact line."According to Lukashenko, the West could respond to such a move by deploying NATO troops in Ukraine."Even if we got involved in the war this would be a path to escalation. Why? Because you, the Anglo-Saxons, would immediately say that another country had got involved on one side.