Kellogg denies promising Lukashenko to limit Ukrainian strikes on Russia
Photo: US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg (Getty Images)
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that US special envoy Keith Kellogg had allegedly promised him to work on limiting Ukraine's strikes on Russia. The latter denied.
What Lukashenko said
Yesterday, July 1, Russian and Belarusian state media reported Lukashenko's statement that he had conveyed to Kellogg Vladimir Putin's position on a possible ceasefire.
Lukashenko said that Moscow was allegedly not against a ceasefire, but did not want American, British, and French missiles to hit Russian territory.
According to the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Putin demands that the West tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to strike at Russia. Then, according to Lukashenko, Russia will allegedly agree to a ceasefire.
"I brought this position to the Americans. I said: What's wrong with that? We will work, he (Kellogg - ed.) said, in this direction," Lukashenko said.
Kellogg's reaction
Kellogg denied Lukashenko's statement about the alleged restriction of Ukraine's strikes on Russia. He emphasized that the quote was taken out of context.
According to Kellogg, he and Lukashenko discussed a complete and unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
"Any limitation on Kyiv's conduct was conditional on reciprocal action by Moscow. At no point did I make comments related to Ukraine's prosecution of the war outside of a total ceasefire," Kellogg wrote on X.
Kellogg and Lukashenko's meeting
US special envoy Keith Kellogg traveled to Minsk on June 21. He met there with Lukashenko.
During Kellogg's visit, 14 political prisoners were released from prisons in Belarus. Among those released was Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.
As Kellogg later noted, he and Lukashenko also discussed Russia's war against Ukraine.
