Latest news with #BELTA
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Trump speaks with Putin ally Lukashenko, thanks him for prisoner release ahead of Alaska summit
'I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners,' Trump wrote on Truth Social Hours before his scheduled summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump on Friday held a phone call with 'highly respected' Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of the Russian leader. Trump said that the purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. Taking to Truth Social, Trump wrote, 'I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners. Our conversation was a very good one.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lukashenko has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine and permitted Russian forces to launch the initial phase of their 2022 offensive from Belarusian territory. 'We discussed many topics, including President Putin's visit to Alaska. I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future,' Trump added. According to Belarus state news agency BELTA, 'Lukashenko invited Trump and his family to visit Belarus, and he agreed.' The leaders also discussed bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine, BELTA added. Belarusian President Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, has tightened his grip on power over the years, cracking down on independent media and political opposition under an increasingly authoritarian regime. According to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, the country currently holds 1,186 political prisoners. Many were detained in the aftermath of mass protests that erupted in 2020, following a disputed election widely condemned as fraudulent. In late June, Lukashenko released more than a dozen political prisoners — including prominent opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky — in response to an appeal from the White House. With inputs from agencies
Al Etihad
3 days ago
- Politics
- Al Etihad
Trump speaks to Belarus leader ahead of Alaska summit with Putin
15 Aug 2025 18:54 Aboard Air Force One (AFP)US President Donald Trump spoke with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko -- a close ally of Vladimir Putin -- by telephone on Friday, hours ahead of the US and Russian leaders' summit in Alaska."We discussed many topics, including President Putin's visit to Alaska," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, which was sent while he was en route to the talks aboard Air Force to Belarus state news agency BELTA, "Lukashenko invited Trump and his family to visit Belarus, and he agreed." The leaders also discussed bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine, BELTA added.
Straits Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Lukashenko pardons 42 people jailed in Belarus for extremism, BELTA reports
FILE PHOTO: Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko arrives for a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, March 13, 2025. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS MOSCOW - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 42 people convicted of "extremist offences", state news agency BELTA reported on Wednesday. Opponents of Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994, are regularly accused of extremism-related offences which human rights activists say are trumped up to silence them. BELTA did not give the names of those pardoned. The Belarusian opposition in exile says that such prisoner releases are a ploy by Lukashenko to try to win sanctions relief from the West which has imposed restrictions on Minsk over its support for Russia and domestic political situation. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled since a 2020 presidential election her supporters say was stolen from her, says more than 1,200 political prisoners are still jailed in the former Soviet state, which rounded up all notable opponents of Lukashenko in a violent crackdown on protests after the 2020 vote. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, extended his 31-year rule in another election in January this year that Western countries called a sham. He denies Belarus holds political prisoners or that his re-election was the result of a flawed process. Among those still jailed in Belarus are key leaders of the 2020 protests, including banker Viktor Babariko and opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lukashenko pardons 42 people jailed in Belarus for extremism, BELTA reports
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 42 people convicted of "extremist offences", state news agency BELTA reported on Wednesday. Opponents of Lukashenko, who has been in office since 1994, are regularly accused of extremism-related offences which human rights activists say are trumped up to silence them. BELTA did not give the names of those pardoned. The Belarusian opposition in exile says that such prisoner releases are a ploy by Lukashenko to try to win sanctions relief from the West which has imposed restrictions on Minsk over its support for Russia and domestic political situation. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, exiled since a 2020 presidential election her supporters say was stolen from her, says more than 1,200 political prisoners are still jailed in the former Soviet state, which rounded up all notable opponents of Lukashenko in a violent crackdown on protests after the 2020 vote. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, extended his 31-year rule in another election in January this year that Western countries called a sham. He denies Belarus holds political prisoners or that his re-election was the result of a flawed process. Among those still jailed in Belarus are key leaders of the 2020 protests, including banker Viktor Babariko and opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava. (Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix Light; editing by Andrew Osborn)
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus: I don't care if EU recognises our elections
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has said that he does not care whether the West recognises the presidential "elections" taking place on 26 January. Source: Belarusian state-owned news outlet BELTA, as reported by European Pravda Details: Lukashenko made the statement while speaking to journalists on Sunday after he had taken part in the vote. Quote: "Whether the European Union recognises these elections or not is a matter of taste. Believe me, I assure you, I don't care whether you recognise our elections or not. The main thing for me is that Belarusians recognise these elections and let them end peacefully, as they began. This is the main thing," Lukashenko said. He added that if the West recognises the elections, "we will respond, we will thank them". Quote: "If I were to make a statement now that I do not recognise the US election and do not recognise Trump, would anything change in America? Or in the UK: if I don't recognise Starmer, what will happen in the UK? Nothing. Similarly, nothing will happen here," the Belarusian leader said. Background: On 26 January, Belarus is holding so-called "presidential elections" in which Alexander Lukashenko is expected to secure his seventh term. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the presidential "elections" in Belarus an affront to democracy and does not recognise the legitimacy of Alexander Lukashenko. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said Lukashenko is not a legitimate president of Belarus and will not be considered such after the so-called "elections". Support UP or become our patron!
