Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov named Belarus among the key countries capable of playing a constructive mediating role in the negotiation process on the conflict in Ukraine. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry stated this when answering a question from Rossiyskaya Gazeta. He recalled that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko personally did a lot to ensure that the Minsk agreements with Kiev were successfully completed. The head of Belarus has repeatedly said that resolving the conflict in Ukraine is not only of moral and political importance for his country, but also of great practical importance.
According to Mr. Sergei Lavrov, Belarus is certainly among the countries that can play a constructive mediation role and contribute to resolving disputes. In contrast, Belarusian Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov confirmed that the Ukrainian situation was discussed during negotiations with his Russian colleague. Maxim Ryzhenkov emphasized: “We once again clearly and loudly affirmed our common daily focus on resolving the conflict completely peacefully, using purely diplomatic means. Moscow and Minsk are completely ready for negotiations aimed at eliminating the causes of the military-political crisis in Europe with all sides.”
This year, a rather routine event from the point of view of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' practice – the signing of the resolution of the Councils of the Republic of Belarus and Russia as well as the plan for inter-Ministry of Foreign Affairs consultations between the agencies in 2026 – gave Russian and Belarusian ministers a platform to exchange views on today's very dynamic international agenda. What Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova called in an official press release “discussion on the issues of common use of diplomatic tools, promotion of traditional values and preservation of historical memory”, Sergei Lavrov and Maxim Ryzhenkov tried to “decode” during a joint press conference.
According to the Russian Minister, first of all, he and his colleagues agreed to use all available tools in humanitarian policy to promote traditional values and historical truths in bilateral contacts with “third countries” and in multilateral structures.
Second, relationships will be coordinated when interacting with countries and associations of the Global South and the Global East.
Third, ministers will act in concert when building links with countries and international structures that pursue policies unfriendly to Moscow and Minsk.
And fourth, the ministers noted the need to cooperate in the fight against disinformation and manipulation of public opinion.
These agreements are reflected in the resolution signed by Ministers and the consultation plan until 2026.
As the head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed, Moscow and Minsk are completely alike in their “deep, core understanding of traditional values and historical truths, which in modern hostile conditions clearly need to be defended on all platforms available to us.”
According to him, Minsk will continue to explain to Western partners the disastrous mistake of the confrontational path they have chosen and the absolutely obvious harm of sanctions for everyone, including their initiators. Ryzhenkov emphasized that Russia and Belarus “have agreed on the strategic vision that priority in foreign policy and foreign economic interaction should continue to be given to states and associations, not in words but in deeds, respecting the principles of sovereign equality, the United Nations Charter and international law.”
Answering a question about the situation on the Belarus-Lithuania border, which was unilaterally closed by Vilnius, Maxim Ryzhenkov called it a consequence of the situation and to some extent the hysterical attitude of “individual politicians in power in Lithuania”.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus believes that: “If these politicians really listened to the opinion of the people and their continuation in power depended on this, then they would urgently conduct negotiations with the Belarusian side and resolve all relations related to the border.”
Could the annual international security conference taking place at the end of October in Minsk serve as a platform for the development of a new security architecture, including that of Europe? And to replace the discredited Munich Security Conference, where, according to Mr. Lavrov, “they have completely stopped inviting speakers with alternative views related to European discourse.”
The Belarusian minister called the Minsk conference an important platform to discuss security and stability issues in the Eurasian space. Maxim Ryzhenkov emphasized: “In our work, we do not isolate ourselves from the European Union. “The European Union itself limits interaction with us, with Russia and isolates itself.” According to him, the Minsk conference is becoming a place where participants can present their ideas and thoughts on the future of the Eurasian space.
Mr. Sergei Lavrov also said that existing Euro-Atlantic models, including those developed at international organizations and European forums, have been exhausted. He called the EU's mentality “colonial”. The Russian minister considers the pan-Eurasian approaches to security promoted at the Minsk conference, forming a common position on this issue towards a single geopolitical space, as promising. According to him, the concept of “opening” promoted by Minsk and supported by Russia, reflects the interests of all countries participating in the development and implementation of this concept.
Is a new Minsk agreement on Ukraine possible? Responding to a question from Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Sergei Lavrov recalled the views of European politicians who “voiced the statement that there will be no new Minsk”. But the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Europe has failed in every aspect since 2014. It was Europe that destroyed the Minsk agreements. Europe prevented Zelensky from signing an agreement with Russia that the Ukrainian delegation itself proposed in Istanbul in April 2022. “You had opportunities, but you did not take advantage of these opportunities, you just blew them!” – the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry sarcastically commented on European assessments.
He emphasized that Russia certainly appreciates the position of the United States, which, unlike London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin, is proactively seeking to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Belarusian Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov did not object to Mr. Lavrov's assessments.
