Expert on development of Belarus-US relations: Lukashenko ready for negotiations
At a meeting with President Aleksandr Lukashenko’s participation on October 14th, the global international situation and the development of co-operation with the United States were discussed. In his talk with SB TV and Alfa Radio, the Director General of Stolichnoye TV JSC, Aleksandr Osenko, explained what is happening in the world in the context of Belarusian-American relations.
As noted by the expert, the situation in the world is extremely tense. “There is a feeling that just the slightest spark could be enough for WWIII to break out. Naturally, no one needs it. We know that, over this time, our President has been advocating a peaceful policy. In the context of the Ukrainian conflict, he has repeatedly proposed our country as a peaceful platform for negotiations, and spoke of the necessity of a peaceful dialogue between the West and Russia, and between the United States and Russia,” Mr. Osenko said.
He also noted that the Belarusian special services (and not only them) maintain contacts with Western partners who are also interested in stability in our region, “They are interested in ensuring that there is not, let's say, a larger military component in our region than the one currently taking place in Ukraine. If military operations begin on the European continent, the United States will hardly hide out overseas.”
According to Mr. Osenko, after the talks between American leader Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, the United States put forward proposals to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. “Actually, everything is being solved behind closed doors. Our President has publicly indicated that he is ready for negotiations and outlined our red lines. That is probably why such serious people were among the yesterday’s meeting participants: it was necessary for the public message to be heard abroad – both by our opponents and our allies,” he noted.
Belarus’ President also noted during the meeting that the United States had seen concrete opportunities and potential of the republic to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. Commenting on that, Mr. Osenko said, “Ukraine is a Slavic nation. In any case, our people still have friendly relations and ties with Ukraine. This is the third sister of our Slavic brotherhood, our Slavic civilisation. Trump understands perfectly well that Belarusians have a say, and their words are heard both by Russia and Ukrainian politicians, who are in the second echelon and are in the shadows so far. That's why we have the potential. I would like to remind you once again that the first two rounds of negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine took place on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, until the Anglo-Saxons’ intervention into them. Everything could have been settled at the beginning of the conflict actually.”
The expert added, “Vladimir Putin appreciates the friendship with our President very much, and he listens to his opinion. Therefore, Trump is probably looking for another channel of communication with the Russian President.”
