President: Belarus ready to work on Trump-proposed “big deal”

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has confirmed that negotiations are underway with the United States on a proposed “major deal,” saying the initiative was put forward by American representatives on behalf of Donald Trump.

Speaking as reported by BelTA, Lukashenko said the proposal emerged during the third or fourth round of bilateral talks and would encompass a range of issues currently under discussion between Minsk and Washington.

“Yes, indeed, during the negotiations — it was the third or fourth round — the Americans, on behalf of Trump, proposed concluding a major deal that would cover a number of issues on the agenda of our talks,” he said.

Lukashenko stressed that agreement with the United States is significant both for Belarus and personally for him, making clear his readiness to proceed.

“What, am I going to deny it? This is important for Belarus and for me personally. So I said: ‘I take this normally, tell Donald that I agree to work out this major deal and prepare it,’” he stated.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the issue may not currently be a top priority for Washington, though negotiations continue.

“We have outlined our interests and sent the relevant proposals to the Americans. As they informed me, these are being worked on… A major deal is not only about ‘political prisoners,’ as they say. Although I constantly correct them that we have no political prisoners, because we have no political articles,” Lukashenko added.

By Tamilla Hasanova