Minsk — Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has extended a rare and highly symbolic invitation to US president Donald Trump, offering to host him and his family in Minsk. The invitation was delivered during a phone call on Friday while Trump was flying to Anchorage, Alaska, for his closely watched summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The conversation, according to both Belarusian and US sources, centered on bilateral relations, regional security, and the state of “hot spots” around the globe, including the Ukraine conflict. Lukashenko, a longtime ally of Moscow, used the call to position Belarus as both a diplomatic player and a strategic link between Washington and the Eurasian bloc, at a moment when US foreign policy in Eastern Europe remains deeply fractured.
Belarusian state media reported that Trump accepted the invitation, though no date has been set. Lukashenko also raised the issue of 1,300 prisoners currently held in Belarus, suggesting their release could serve as a goodwill gesture to open channels for further cooperation. The move, if followed through, would provide Trump an opportunity to claim a diplomatic “win” without making concessions on the US position toward Belarus or Russia.
The Anchorage meeting between Trump and Putin is the first major bilateral summit between Washington and Moscow since the early days of the Ukraine War, and it comes amid increasing calls from within the US political establishment to reassess sanctions and military aid policies. For the Kremlin, the Alaska venue, once part of the Russian Empire, offers symbolic weight and a reminder of Russia’s enduring historical footprint in the Arctic.
While the US president has framed the summit as a preliminary step toward a broader peace framework, many in Ukraine and the EU remain skeptical. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly warned that any negotiations excluding Kyiv are doomed to fail, citing Russia’s ongoing military presence in occupied territories. Meanwhile, critics in Washington argue that Trump’s willingness to engage directly with Putin and now Lukashenko risks legitimizing leaders accused of undermining democratic norms.
According to Gazeta, the call took place mid-flight during Trump’s journey to Alaska, ahead of his scheduled talks with Putin. The Russian outlet noted that Trump thanked Lukashenko for his role in a recent prisoner release and accepted the offer to visit Minsk, a gesture that could complicate the already delicate balance of US alliances in the region.
In a separate report, The Washington Times highlighted that the conversation was also used by Trump to express personal appreciation for Lukashenko’s diplomatic outreach and to signal that Belarus could play a role in future conflict resolution talks. The publication framed the exchange as part of a broader strategy to build goodwill with Putin’s allies ahead of high-stakes discussions on the Ukraine War and sanctions policy
