Trump envoy may discuss Ukraine peace, political prisoners in Minsk

June 18, Pozirk. Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, may visit Belarus to meet Alaksandar Łukašenka in the coming days, Reuters reported, citing four sources.
The agenda is unclear, although Kellogg reportedly believes that the trip could help relaunch peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that remain stalled.
Belarus has been an integral part of Russia’s war against Ukraine since its start in 2022 and cannot be ignored, as underestimating the importance of the country located in the geographical center of Europe harms regional security, commented Valeryj Kavaleŭski of the Euro-Atlantic Affairs Agency think tank.
A peace settlement can be sustainable only if Russia “loses control over Belarus,” he stressed.
The Kremlin should not be able to use Belarus “for new military actions against Ukraine or other European neighbors,” he added.
Kavaleŭski suggested that Kellogg may also discuss the release of political prisoners, ending reprisals in Belarus and the migration crisis at the European Union’s eastern borders and resuming operations of the US embassy in Minsk.
The trip may still be cancelled or modified as high-level visits require careful preparations, Reuters reported. Washington and the Belarusian embassy in the US have not yet commented.
During Trump’s first term, the US sought to improve diplomatic relations with Minsk, but those efforts were put on hold after Łukašenka declared himself the winner of the 2020 election.
In February 2022, Russia started a full-scale war against Ukraine in which the Belarusian authorities supported the Kremlin, allowing Russian troops to attack Ukraine from Belarus on multiple occasions and supplying arms to Moscow.
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja discusses political prisoners with French foreign ministerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarusian police accused of torturing former Afghan officerThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsPoczobut held in penal colony’s isolation wing amid health declineThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityUkraine to try Volyn resident for sharing info with Belarus’ secret serviceThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCichanoŭskaja: Belarus gains unprecedented attention in French foreign policyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsSenators approve Belarusian-Russian deal against prosecution abroadThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka, Putin discuss regional situationThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Security
- Economy
- SocietyHome tattoo turns fatal for Maładziečna womanThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, Politics
- EconomyBelarusians net sellers of foreign currency in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLithuania scaling back security for Cichanoŭskaja – reportsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityOfficials holding four-day mobilization drill across BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: Wargaming co-founder given lengthy prison term in absentiaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityPoland, Latvia see sharp rise in illegal entries compared with early October 2024The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsBelarus, Oman sign memorandum on pulp and cardboard millThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsEU delegation calls for all regime prisoners to be freedThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarus, Oman sign visa waiver agreementThe material is available only to POZIRK+