U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg met with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for a total of 6.5 hours overnight on June 20-21, on the U.S. attempt to negotiate a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Also discussed, according to Lukashenko’s spokeswoman Natalya Eismont, were Belarus’s relations with Russia and China, and both U.S. and European sanctions against Belarus.
Previous to these extended discussions, U.S. efforts to reach out to Belarus have involved attempts to move Belarus away from its alliance with Russia. Kellogg himself has followed closely along Kiev’s anti-Moscow line in the last several months. Eyebrows were therefore raised over Kellogg’s trip to Minsk.
Prior to the first session on June 20, Lukashenko, before Kellogg’s visit, made efforts to reassure Moscow of his allegiance to Russia. On June 20, he met with the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, and told him, “I want you to understand that in this difficult time, we are with you.”
