Aliaksandr Lukashenka said a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump was possible and stated that he had been invited to the next meeting of the Peace Council, scheduled for the autumn.
“I do not rule out such a meeting,” he said in an interview with Al Arabiya when asked about plans to meet Trump.
“Moreover, I have been invited to the next Peace Summit. The next such meeting will take place in the autumn. I have been invited to this meeting (of leaders within the framework of the Peace Council session),” Lukashenka said.
He stressed that any meeting with the U.S. president should be carefully prepared and produce concrete results.
“Again, as Putin always says: before meeting with someone, especially when heads of state meet, it is necessary to understand what the outcome will be. What can we put together, what can we forge by meeting Donald Trump? So that people receive an answer: well, they met, and what came of it?” Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka said he did not expect any agreements reached to be global in nature, but they should lead to improved relations between the countries.
“Yes, these cannot be some kind of global agreements. But they will be agreements (including those based on compromises) aimed at untangling some of the knots that have been created between the two states in recent years, so as to improve our relations. We are ready for this. The Americans and we are ready to create these conditions. They must be comprehensive,” Lukashenka said.
According to Lukashenka, a meeting with Trump should not focus solely on the release of political prisoners.
“Not only, as you said, prisoners, convicted individuals and so on. Listen, that is only what is visible on the surface. We have issues concerning embassies, economic matters and financial matters. We have many issues. These issues should be addressed as a single package. And as a result of a meeting between the two presidents, there should be, if not agreements, then at least indications of how these issues can be resolved,” he said.
