June 21, Pozirk. Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, has met Alaksandar Łukašenka in Minsk, Pul Pervogo, the Belarusian ruler’s unofficial Telegram channel reports.
“Your visit sparked a lot of buzz around the world. But I wonder why? Can’t we have a normal dialogue and talk about our affairs, relations between Belarus and the United States of America?” it quoted Łukašenka as saying.
“I very much hope that our conversation will be very sincere and open. Otherwise, what is the point of the meeting? If we try to outsmart each other, we won’t get results,” he added.
Łukašenka said that he was glad to see familiar faces at the meeting, most likely referring to US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Smith, who had visited Minsk in February to assist the release of three designated political prisoners.
The talks focused on international issues, global and regional politics as well as Belarusian-American relations, Łukašenka’s press office said.
Media reported on possible Kellogg’s visit to Minsk earlier this week, as Washington has been seeking to relaunch peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that remain stalled.
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.
