Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that relations between Minsk and Washington could improve, citing as a possible starting point the recognition by the United States that the West's attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus was unsuccessful. Lukashenko said this in an interview with the American media outlet Newsmax, published on Wednesday.
The official results of the 2020 election, according to which Lukashenko won a sixth term, sparked unprecedented mass protests in the country, with demonstrators and the opposition accusing the authorities of electoral fraud. Russia has expressed support for Lukashenko, while the United States and other Western countries have refused to recognize his legitimacy. In response to the protests, Belarusian authorities have arrested thousands of demonstrators.
In his interview, Lukashenko said that Belarusians and Americans are pragmatists and can reach an understanding. He argued that the Western campaign to pressure his government has failed. "I told your colleagues who came here: you must know how to admit defeat. If a major country like the United States organized an attack on us in 2020 and lost, that is a starting point," he said. He said there was no need to publicly admit defeat, but it could be a basis for "calm conversation and moving forward".
Following the 2020 elections, as well as over alleged human rights abuses and Lukashenko's decision to allow Russia to use Belarusian territory to invade Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Belarus.
In recent months, American officials have visited the country in an effort to improve relations and secure the release of activists the West considers political prisoners. U.S. envoy to Belarus John Cole, who was present during the interview, helped broker an agreement last week to release 123 detainees.
Lukashenko stressed that Belarus wants good relations with the United States. "Why do we have bad relations with the Americans? Have we done anything bad to the United States of America? No. Then why do you look at us with such distrust?" he asked. The president added that he does not want the problems that arose during his rule to be passed on to the next generation.
He also admitted the possibility of cooperation between Minsk and Washington on international issues, including resolving the US's disagreements with Venezuela, a country with whose leadership Lukashenko maintains good relations. "Can we work together there? Yes, we can," the Belarusian president said.