Belarus president proposes hosting Ukraine-Russia peace talks
Belarusian President and presidential candidate Alexander Lukashenko meets with the media after voting in Belarus’ presidential election in the capital Minsk on January 26, 2025. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
MOSCOW — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered in an interview published on Wednesday to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks that could involve US officials.
Lukashenko is a close Putin ally and his country is under US and European sanctions over its support for Russia’s military action in Ukraine and a government crackdown on the opposition. Russia used Belarusian territory to send some troops into Ukraine in 2022.
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Lukashenko said there had to be an accord with Zelensky “since a large part of Ukrainian society is with him.”
“There is only 200 kilometres (125 miles) between the Belarus frontier and Kyiv. Half an hour in a plane. Come,” he declared in the interview recorded on February 27.
Lukashenko praised Trump’s efforts to talk with Russia and end the three-year-old conflict.
“Trump is a good guy, he talks about it a lot and has already done something to end the war in Ukraine and the war in the Middle East,” Lukashenko said.
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The release of the interview came after Trump said Tuesday that Zelensky had told him he was ready for talks on a “lasting peace” with Russia.
Trump’s Washington meeting with Zelensky on Friday turned into an angry showdown and pressure has mounted on Zelensky after Trump ordered the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky has since posted on social media that the clash was “regrettable” and he wanted “to make things right” with the US leader.
