— We have good relations with Belarus, and its leader is a person for whom I have great respect. We have very good relations with Belarus and I like its leader very much, Trump said during a conversation with journalists before leaving for Texas. In this way, he answered a question from a Lithuanian television journalist about the possible normalization of US relations with Belarus.
What did Donald Trump say about Alexander Lukashenko?
What are the relations between the United States and Belarus?
Who is the US special envoy for Belarus?
Why were there no representatives of Belarus at the inaugural meeting of the Peace Council?
Minsk has been striving to normalize relations with Washington since last year, and the US president's special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, said he had held talks with Lukashenko on this subject. As a result of the talks, American sanctions were lifted, among others. on Belarusian fertilizer and potash companies and on Lukashenko's planes and Belavia airlines.
Belarus is also one of the members of the Peace Council organization created by Trump, although its representatives were not present at the inaugural meeting of the Council. The Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that the reason was that Foreign Minister Maksim Ryzhankou did not receive an American visa on time.
