Lukashenko invites Trump, Zelensky, Putin to hold talks in Minsk
Minsk is prepared to host the leaders of the United States, Ukraine, and Russia for talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview on March 4.
Lukashenko's remarks follow shortly after the U.S. imposed an immediate freeze on military aid to Ukraine, in a move the White House claimed was meant to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky into entering peace negotiations.
In an interview with American internet personality Mario Nawfal that aired on Belarusian state media, Lukashenko said he was willing to help U.S. President Donald Trump achieve his goal of brokering peace between Kyiv and Moscow.
"If you want, come here," he said, speaking to Nawfal in Minsk.
"It's only 200 kilometers from the Belarusian border to Kyiv. Half an hour by plane. You are welcome to come. We will sit down here. We'll come to an agreement quietly, without noise, without shouting. So tell Trump: I'm waiting for him here, along with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and Zelensky. We'll sit down and calmly negotiate. If you want to make a deal."
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Belarus Weekly
Despite the invitation, Lukashenko stressed that he did not want to act as a mediator between other nations.
"Most of all, I hate mediation. It means being between someone and pretending that you can do something," he said.
Belarus previously hosted talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2014 and 2015, leading to the Minsk Agreements. The agreements were meant to stop the Donbas war, triggered by Russia's invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Russia violated both agreements. Two days before launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin declared that the Minsk Agreements "no longer existed."
Zelensky brought up Russia's violation of prior agreements during his Oval Office meeting with Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in an attempt to explain the importance of concrete security guarantees for Ukraine.
Trump and Vance responded by berating Zelensky, accusing him of being ungrateful for U.S. assistance. Days later, the U.S. halted military aid to Ukraine.
In a joint address to both chambers of the U.S. Congress on March 4, Trump made little mention of the decision, but said he planned to work with "both sides" to stop the war in Ukraine.
Belarus remains a staunch ally of the Kremlin. While it has not committed its own troops to the battlefield in Ukraine, it allowed the Russian military to use its territory and infrastructure extensively during the launch of the full-scale invasion.
Zelensky claimed on Feb. 14 that Russia is once again building up troops in Belarus, possibly in preparation for large-scale operations against NATO countries.
Read also: Trump cuts to US weapons aid likely to hit Ukrainian civilians before front line
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