«We are indeed considering a meeting between the presidents in practical terms, and appropriate steps are being taken. There was an invitation from President Trump to our president to participate in the Board of Peace held in the United States. However, a number of technical issues simply did not allow us to do so. It is not about the U. S. side; rather, it is currently quite difficult to fly from Belarus to the United States of America, given the sanctions that the European Union has imposed personally on the president and on the flights of our aircraft,» Maxim Ryzhenkov said.

The foreign minister also noted that it is necessary to understand that the time must be right for a meeting between the two leaders to take place. That is, talks should not be held merely for the sake of holding talks, just to provide the heads of state with a chance to have a chat.

«Special messages have been repeatedly conveyed to our president through Trump’s envoys. There were also reciprocal, very warm messages and phone calls between the presidents of the two countries. In other words, the contact is there. However, to hold a meeting, we need substantial groundwork that can be integrated into future agreements. These will then be implemented by both parties, bringing us closer to resolving all the issues that matter to both us and the U. S. side,» the diplomat emphasized. «We are open to such a meeting. We are making significant efforts to make it happen, but, again, not at any cost. We are not standing with a begging bowl.»

The minister did not rule out that such a meeting could take place in the near term: «You know both the personality of President Trump and of our president. These are highly active people, quick to act, who do not hesitate for long, make decisions rapidly, and project their outcomes.»

Maxim Ryzhenkov is convinced that it is vital for any state to maintain contacts and have constructive relations with the United States. The same applies to Russia, China, and the European Union.

«Therefore, a stance where these relations were virtually frozen and there was no progress along the Washington—Minsk line was not very acceptable to us,» the foreign minister said.

According to him, Belarus is interested in trade, economic, and financial cooperation with the USA. The Americans, in turn, are interested in combating illegal migration, cross-border crime, and the trafficking of weapons, drugs, and human beings. «These are the topics that are defining for us when building cooperation,» the minister said.

Regarding the U. S. efforts to secure the release of certain prisoners, the minister believes this is likely because these individuals had violated the law, relying on Western support and counting on its assistance. Maxim Ryzhenkov emphasized, however, that this is not a political matter, as all these individuals were convicted of criminal offenses.

«Of course, to save face, the U. S. side needs to resolve this issue as well,» the foreign minister said. «If we are talking about the individuals being released today, these are people who have already served a sufficient amount of time in correctional facilities. Many of them have already realized the harm of their actions. Others, if they haven’t fully realized it, have at least understood that it is better not to return to such places. If the U. S. side is ready, along with the Europeans, to deal with such people abroad, they are welcome to do so. However, as practice shows, very many of the self-exiled opposition, as we call them, who took part in extremist activities in our country, are now making a name for themselves in the European Union as well. Every day we see cross-sectional information from there: someone beat someone up, drug or human trafficking somewhere, moving illegal goods, hooliganism, theft, and banditry. This goes to show once again that they are not as innocent as they are made out to be.»

At the same time, Maxim Ryzhenkov stated that Belarus will not develop cooperation with the United States at the expense of its relations with its closest allies, primarily Russia and China. «There are certain boundaries that we will never cross in our interaction with other states,» the Belarusian diplomat emphasized.