{"id":150227,"date":"2025-08-08T21:56:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T18:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/150227\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"journalist-shuster-interview-with-lukasenka-was-minsks-persistent-overture","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/150227\/","title":{"rendered":"Journalist Shuster: interview with \u0141uka\u0161enka was Minsk\u2019s persistent overture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Belarusian leader's press office)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

August 8, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Simon Shuster, a journalist for Time Magazine<\/em>, said Minsk had persistently sought to arrange his interview with Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka, which was recorded on July 25 and published on August 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRarely have the overtures been as persistent as the ones that reached me this spring from the allies of Alexander Lukashenko [Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka], the dictator of Belarus,\u201d he says in his account<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was not immediately clear what the intermediaries wanted,\u201d the correspondent stated. \u201cI had never been to Belarus or written much about it, though my coverage of its neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, had given me a grasp of \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Europe he holds the dubious honor of clinging to power longer than any other sitting leader by far, an astonishing 31 years without pause, which means most of the nine million people in his landlocked country have never known another ruler in their adult lives,\u201d Shuster said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called the \u0141uka\u0161enka regime one of the most repressive and isolated in the world; under its current government, Belarus has \u201cterrible relations and almost no trade with four out of its five neighbors, and a near-total dependence on the fifth: Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journalist said it wasn\u2019t an obvious decision for him to take a call from a \u0141uka\u0161enka official who appeared relatively inexperienced in dealing with Western media. A few minutes into their conversation, the official asked how much an interview with The Time<\/em> would cost and, based on his tone, seemed puzzled to learn that the process couldn\u2019t involve any kind of bribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official replied, \u201cJust checking, so we avoid any misunderstandings later on.\u201d After several calls and messages, they agreed on the terms of the interview: it would take place in Minsk, with no pre-arranged questions or topics for discussion. \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s motives became clear later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Shuster, at the end of the interview, \u0141uka\u0161enka himself explained why he was so eager to talk to The Time<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis effort with Putin to arrange a peace on favorable terms for the Russians had made so much headway with the Americans. It helped win so much extra time for the Russian military to continue its summer offensive in Ukraine. But now, at the crucial moment, [US President Donald] Trump had begun to take a harder line, threatening to impose tariffs on any country that buys Russian oil, starting with India and moving on to China and Turkey,\u201d the reporter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He quoted \u0141uka\u0161enka as telling him: \u201cI hope you will shake up public opinion in the United States of America. It\u2019ll all work out. Just give Trump a push.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u0141uka\u0161enka speaks with Putin by phone a week after Russia visit<\/h3>\n
August 8, Pozirk. Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held a telephone conversation to discuss Steve Witkoff's recent visit to Moscow as US President Donald Trump\u2019s envoy and \u201cthe American side\u2019s proposals on peace talks.\u201d According to \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s …<\/div>\n \n