“The Budapest Memorandum absolutely does not prevent Lukashenka from officially recognizing Crimea,” RBC quotes Chepa as saying.
On August 9, the Belarusian president said during a press conference that Minsk would recognize Crimea as Russian "when the last oligarch in Russia recognizes Crimea and starts supplying products there."
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "the fate and future of Crimea is forever with Russia, whether someone likes it or not."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed that the Crimea issue is closed for Russia, and the referendum on the peninsula was held in strict accordance with international law.
Crimea became a Russian region after a referendum was held there in March 2014 - the majority of residents were in favor of reunification with Russia.