U.S. Particular Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg denied on July 1 that he agreed to "work on" halting Ukraine's drone assaults on Russia, contradicting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko's declare.
Talking at a state occasion on Belarus's Independence Day, Lukashenko stated he relayed Russian President Vladimir Putin's place to Kellogg throughout their June 21 assembly in Minsk.
In accordance with Lukashenko, the Russian president is prepared to think about a ceasefire in Ukraine if Ukrainian forces cease conducting drone strikes on Russian territory.
"I conveyed this place to the Individuals," Lukashenko stated on July 1. "We’ll work on it, stated (the U.S. particular envoy), on this course."
Kellogg pushed again on the declare, writing on X that the quote was "taken out of context" and misrepresented the substance of their talks.
"At no level did I make feedback associated to Ukraine's prosecution of the battle exterior of a complete ceasefire," he stated. "In my dialog with Lukashenko, we mentioned a full and unconditional ceasefire."
The June assembly between Kellogg and Lukashenko marked the highest-level U.S. go to to Belarus since former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's 2020 journey. Belarusian state media broadly portrayed Kellogg's go to as an indication of thawing relations.
Shortly after the talks, Belarus launched opposition chief and political prisoner Siarhei Tsikhanouski, who had been jailed for the reason that 2020 presidential election.
Lukashenko has dominated Belarus since 1994 and stays a key ally of the Kremlin. His regime has allowed Russian troops and gear to make use of Belarusian territory to assault Ukraine for the reason that begin of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek