I am waiting for Trump, Putin and Zelena. Lukashenko wants peace negotiations in Minsk
For Russia, Minsk would be the best place to negotiate, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
« Tell Trump that I am waiting for him with Putin and Zelenský, » Lukashenko said in a video interview with American blogger Mario Nawfal.
“We sit down and agree on. If you want to agree, ”added the Belarus leader who has been in power since 1994 and won the presidential election again this January. But according to the opposition and the EU, they were not free again. Independent media are banned in the country, and many opposition politicians are either in prison or in exile.
Lukashenko also appreciated US President Trump for his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. « Only because of his (Trump) administration the question of the end of the war (in Ukraine) became so urgent, » said the leader of the country that provided Russia its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
« Let's be honest, it is advantageous for me and useful for us that the US and the EU have disagreements, » Lukashenko also said without further details, according to Reuters. « It is beneficial for us that (Trump) showed his place to the Zelena, » he added.
Last month, Moscow and Washington launched interviews in Riyadh to end the war in Ukraine, which were attended by US and Russia ministers Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov.
They faced criticism that they did not invite Ukraine to the meeting. It was the first Russian-American official meeting since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Last week, the delegation delegation discussed in Istanbul at a lower level of Russian-American relations that President Joe Biden froze due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Lukashenko recently commented critically on the steps of American diplomacy. The negotiations between the US and Russian delegations in Riyadh described the US effort to push the wedge between Russia and China.
Minsk is ideal for us, said Peskov
AFP recalled that Belarus had already hosted interviews between the pro -Russian separatists from Eastern Ukraine and Kiev, mediated by Moscow, Paris and Berlin.
There were so -called Minsk agreements, which in addition to the ceasefire also counted on the restoration of full control over the state border by the Ukrainian government or the amnesty for separatists and autonomy of the Donetsk and Luhan regions. But Kiev and Moscow began to blame each other for its violation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that the proposal to organize peace interviews in Minsk is not on the table. “But of course Minsk is the best place. It is our main ally, and therefore it is the best place for negotiations, ”said Russian President Vladimir spokesman Vladimir Putin, according to Interfax in answering journalists' questions.
At the end of last year, Slovakia confirmed that it is ready to host negotiations on peace in Ukraine. « Slovakia offers space for peace negotiations, » wrote the head of Slovak diplomacy Juraj Blanár on Facebook. « We offer Slovak land for such behavior, » the Minister pointed out.
It happened after Putin confirmed that Slovakia, whose « neutral attitude » praised, offered to be a kind of « platform » for perhaps negotiations. Putin's statement followed along the way of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to Moscow, criticized by the Slovak opposition and Ukraine, defending Russian invasion for more than three years.
