NYT: Trump envoy visited Belarus to enlist Lukashenko's help in ending war in Ukraine

Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine, met with self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko to seek his support for a potential peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, among other things. Lukashenko’s spokesperson said the talks lasted six and a half hours.

Source: The New York Times (NYT)

Details: The New York Times quoted Lukashenko’s press secretary, Natalya Eismont, as saying that the talks, which began on Friday night, lasted six and a half hours and covered US and European sanctions against Belarus, the "conflicts" in Ukraine and the Middle East, and Belarus’s relations with Russia and China.

Kellogg was accompanied in Minsk by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Smith, who visited Belarus in February to negotiate a deal whereby Lukashenko would release political prisoners in exchange for sanctions relief.

The NYT noted that the release of 14 prisoners on Saturday had accelerated a gradual process in which detainees, including three Americans, have been freed in small groups in recent months.

The NYT says that during a meeting with Lukashenko in 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo aimed to weaken Lukashenko’s close partnership with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. But these efforts failed after Lukashenko claimed victory in the presidential election despite reports of widespread fraud and mass protests.

"Kellogg’s goals appear less ambitious, focused less on pulling Belarus away from Moscow than on securing Mr Lukashenko’s help in a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine," the newspaper says.

The NYT also quoted from remarks made by Kellogg and Lukashenko at the start of their talks.

"We live in very, very perilous times, and the constant concern that we have is a crisis that could escalate and grow if we are not not only cautious, but wise," Kellogg said.

Lukashenko, in turn, assured Trump’s special envoy that "there will be no escalation, not only in Belarus but also around us".

The NYT also reported that prior to Kellogg’s visit, Lukashenko had made efforts to reassure Moscow of his allegiance to Russia. On Friday, he received a visit from Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee and a long-time Putin ally.

"I want you to understand that in this difficult time, we are with you," Lukashenko told Bastrykin.

Background: 

• Lukashenko met with Kellogg in Minsk on Saturday 21 June.
• On the same day, the Lukashenko regime released 14 political prisoners, including Siarhei Tsikhanouski, the husband of opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

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