October 3, Pozirk. Belarusian Foreign Minister Maksim Ryžankoŭ indicated in an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti that Minsk is taking practical steps to organize a meeting between Alaksandar Łukašenka and US President Donald Trump.
“We are indeed considering a meeting between the presidents in practical terms,” Ryžankoŭ was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s session in New York. “Respective steps are being taken to this end.”
Ryžankoŭ recalled that Trump had invited Łukašenka to participate in the first meeting of the “Board of Peace” in Washington on February 19, 2026, but the Belarusian leader had decided not to travel there, citing European restrictions on Belarusian air traffic. “And the problem is not the American side but the fact that it’s rather difficult to get from Belarus to the United by air today, considering the sanctions the European Union has imposed personally on the president and overflights of our planes,” Ryžankoŭ said.
Speaking on September 11, Alaksandar Łukašenka said that he is looking forward to meeting with US Special Envoy John Coale in Minsk and is open to business deals with the United States, including on the export of Belarusian potash fertilizers.
Łukašenka expressed readiness to take part in activities of Trump’s Board of Peace and to meet with the US president but “not to play along there as a prop.”
Łukašenka said that he was open to both “small and grand bargains” with Trump, indicating that he was ready to free more prisoners.
