{"id":175865,"date":"2026-02-16T17:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T14:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175865\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lukasenka-says-he-decided-against-traveling-to-washington-because-of-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175865\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0141uka\u0161enka says he decided against traveling to Washington because of sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (\u0141uka\u0161enka's press office)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 16, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka said he decided not to travel to Washington for the first meeting of US President Donald Trump\u2019s Board of Peace, scheduled for February 19, citing European restrictions on Belarusian air traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat was I supposed to do under these sanctions \u2014 fly to Washington via the South African Republic?\u201d he asked during a meeting in Minsk today with Sergei Glazyev, state secretary of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Footage of the meeting was published by a Telegram channel associated with his press office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you wanted to see me there, you should have resolved the issue so that I could fly there and back comfortably,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka added that he is not afraid of being arrested in the United States. \u201cI can\u2019t even imagine something like this happening to any other president or to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also denied allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin had prevented him from traveling to Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI very much hope that we will participate in future events of this board at the presidential level. . . Perhaps not in Washington, but somewhere in Europe or the Middle East \u2014 perhaps in Israel, closer to here, or in Turkey \u2014 at other meetings of this board. . . We want peace. Above all, where our destiny lies \u2014 in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, Natalla Ejsmant, spokeswoman for the Belarusian leader, said that \u0141uka\u0161enka would not attend the meeting because the invitation had arrived too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president\u2019s work schedule had already been planned for this period. Yes, we would be happy to visit the United States of America, but there are matters that cannot be delayed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also mentioned Europe\u2019s air traffic restrictions on Belarus, adding that Foreign Minister Maksim Ry\u017eanko\u016d would attend the event instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Board of Peace was originally conceived as a mechanism to implement part of the Gaza ceasefire plan. However, Trump and his officials later suggested it would address a broader range of global issues, with the US president saying it has the potential to become \u201cone of the most consequential bodies ever created.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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