MINSK, May 26. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has invited US President Joe Biden to Minsk if, as the White House indicated earlier, he really wants to discuss the problems of Belarus. Lukashenko made the proposal while speaking at Wednesday's meeting with legislators, members of the Constitutional Commission and representatives of government agencies, when asked if Belarus might be discussed at the forthcoming Putin-Biden meeting.
"I would like to make a public invitation: if they wish to discuss Belarus, they may visit. I will give them both an honorable reception. We will discuss all issues. I will even listen to all of the nasty things that [White House spokesperson Jen] Psaki will write for him to read out to me. There will be a frank discussion.
But sitting in Switzerland and lecturing Putin on the problems of Belarus is just laughable," Lukashenko said.
"Ok, it's fine with me, they can talk about Belarus," Lukashenko said. "While Putin and I will be discussing America, when we'll meet on Friday. I have no idea, though, what Biden can say about Belarus (as for Putin, he is well up on the subject). I feel a little bit nervous if they will give him a map to brush up his knowledge where that country called Belarus is. They (US administration - TASS) are absolutely unaware of the real situation."
Lukashenko claimed that Putin and Biden had earlier discussed the events in Belarus in a telephone conversation and the US leader reportedly had to make excuses. The Belarusian leader added that Putin, at his own initiative, had discussed with his American counterpart the row over preparations for toppling Lukashenko, in which the US might have been involved, according to the Belarusian secret services.
Belarus in the context of future Russia-US summit
The US administration hopes that when they meet in Geneva, President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss strategic stability and also Belarus, Iran and Ukraine, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. Biden, she said, would bring up the issue of Belarus and express the United States' serious concern.
Earlier, the Kremlin and the White House said that a Putin-Biden meeting would take place in Geneva on June 16. The Russian presidential press service said that the presidents would discuss the current state of bilateral relations and the outlook for their development, strategic stability and crucial issues on the international agenda.
On May 23, a Vilnius-bound passenger plane of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair that left Greece made an emergency landing at Minsk International Airport following a reported threat that there was an explosive device on board. A MiG-29 fighter was scrambled to escort the airliner. After landing, specialists searched the plane but found no bomb.
Minsk later said that among the plane's passengers was Roman Protasevich, a co-founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, outlawed in Belarus as extremist. He was detained by law enforcement agents.
Psaki said the United States was considering measures against Belarus in light of the incident, including sanctions in close contact with Europe.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov on April 19 confirmed that in a telephone conversation with Biden on April 13 Putin discussed the reports of plans for the assassination of Lukashenko. The Kremlin spokesman refrained from commenting when asked if the Biden administration might have been behind the plot.