Belarus offers to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations with Trump, place of initial 2022 peace talks

Alexander Lukashenko, self-proclaimed president of Belarus, extended an invitation to host peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, specifically requesting US President Donald Trump’s participation alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Belarus hosted the initial round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia shortly after the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. These negotiations were subsequently relocated to Türkiye, a more neutral mediator compared to Belarus, which is a key Russian ally.

However, these talks did not end well and stalled in May 2022, largely due to the Bucha massacre and unfavorable conditions for Ukraine in the Istanbul Communiqué, which proposed several concessions, including Ukraine’s neutrality and limits on its military, in exchange for security guarantees from Western countries.

In an interview with blogger Mario Naufal, cited by the Telegram channel “Pool Pervogo,” Lukashenko emphasized the need for dialogue and highlighted Belarus’s convenient location, just “half an hour by plane” from Kyiv.

“We can sit down here, calmly, without noise, without shouting, and come to an agreement,” Lukashenko stated, according to Pool Pervogo, likely referring to a contentious meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump at the White House on 28 February.

He directly addressed Trump through the interview: “I’m waiting for him here together with Putin and Zelensky.”

The Belarusian leader expressed satisfaction with Trump’s election victory, suggesting that the American president’s large family with “many children and grandchildren” serves as a guarantee against nuclear escalation. This family status, Lukashenko argued, means Trump would never “press the red button.”

Lukashenko has previously insisted on Belarus’s inclusion in any peace negotiations concerning the Russo-Ukrainian war, claiming that Belarusian interests would be at stake. He warned that without his country’s participation, negotiators “might make such decisions that tomorrow half the country will have to be given away.”

Lukashenko claims he didn’t know Russia’s invasion plans but wouldn’t have defended Ukraine still

Lukashenko also stated he had no prior knowledge of Russia’s plans to launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, though he admitted he wouldn’t have intervened to stop it regardless.

He alleged that Ukraine had initiated an “economic war” against Belarus before the war began, claiming Kyiv imposed sanctions “earlier than the Americans and Europe,” sealed borders, and seized freight cars. He further asserted that Ukrainian authorities had detained 75 Belarusian citizens and killed three.

Belarus, however, maintains close ties with Russia, having allowed its territory to be used as a launching pad for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The country also faces Western sanctions due to human rights violations and its support for Russia’s military actions.

Zelenskyy revealed that Lukashenko apologized in the early days of the full-scale war and denied responsibility for rockets being launched from Belarusian territory.

In January, Lukashenko secured another term as Belarus’s president in an election that faced strong international criticism calling it a “sham.”