Tsikhanouskaya says Lukashenka 'cannot be trusted' if US envoy travels to Belarus

Published connected 18/06/2025 - 18:23 GMT+2•Updated 18:57

Exiled Belarus guidance leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told Euronews that President Aliaksandr Lukashenka "cannot beryllium trusted astatine all", pursuing a study of a planned gathering successful Minsk betwixt him and nan Trump administration's Ukraine envoy.

Keith Kellogg, a longtime advisor to US President Donald Trump, is readying to recreation to Belarus this week to meet Lukashenka, Reuters reported connected Tuesday, citing 4 sources.

Kellogg has said privately that nan travel could thief kickstart bid talks aimed astatine ending Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, according to 2 of nan sources.

Two rounds of nonstop talks betwixt Moscow and Kyiv grounded to make advancement connected ending nan war, now successful its 4th year.

However, Tsikhanouskaya said connected Wednesday that Belarus was not a spot for negotiations because Lukashenka "is portion of this war".

Lukashenka is simply a cardinal state of Russian President Vladimir Putin and allowed him to shape portion of his full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022 from Belarus.

"He's a co-aggressor and he's serving Putin's interest, and he cannot beryllium trusted astatine all," Tsikhanouskaya told Euronews.

Tsikhanouskaya described Russia's warfare successful Ukraine arsenic a blessing for Lukashenka and that he did not want it to stop.

"(The government) is producing a immense magnitude of worldly for Russian army, and successful this ambiance of sanctions against Lukashenka's regime, it's a bully root of income for him," she added.

"So he's not willing successful peace. He possibly wants to beryllium important successful this deal, but he's not an independent character here."

The West has imposed sanctions connected Belarus complete its support for Russia's warfare successful Ukraine arsenic good arsenic statesmanlike elections successful August 2020 and January this twelvemonth that were wide rejected by Western governments and derided arsenic sham polls.

Lukashenka is Europe's longest-serving ruler, having continuously governed nan erstwhile Soviet republic for 31 years.

Tsikhanouskaya ran against Lukashenka successful nan 2020 vote, and was forced to time off nan federation soon afterwards. Along pinch galore world observers, she accused him of stealing triumph from her by resorting to large-scale vote-rigging.

Minsk and Moscow person some dismissed specified accusations and Western disapproval of nan elections overall.

Rocky US-Belarus relations

In early 2020, during Trump's first term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became nan highest-ranking charismatic from Washington to sojourn Belarus successful much than 2 decades.

However, relations betwixt Minsk and Washington soured aft Joe Biden became US president successful 2021, and nan US suspended operations astatine its embassy successful Minsk successful February 2022 pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

This year, during Trump's 2nd term, it appears that nan US is attempting to amended ties pinch Belarus erstwhile more.

In February, US officials visited Belarus to retrieve 3 governmental prisoners, according to a study successful nan New York Times.

And successful April, Belarus released Youras Ziankovich, a US national who had been jailed connected allegations of plotting to assassinate nan country’s authoritarian leader. His supporters and Washington had called nan charges bogus.

Separately, nan EU's overseas argumentation main warned on Wednesday that Russia poses a nonstop threat to nan European Union and said its monolithic defence spending shows that nan Kremlin has a "long-term scheme for semipermanent aggression".

In an earlier interview pinch Euronews past week, Tsikhanouskaya said that nan large-scale associated subject exercises betwixt Russia and Belarus taking spot successful nan autumn mightiness beryllium a threat to NATO’s eastbound flank.

"Don't hide nan past subject drills successful Belarus ended pinch nan onslaught connected Ukraine", she told Euronews past week, referring to nan upcoming Zapad 2025 manoeuvres.