U.S. uses Belarus as a channel to reach the Kremlin, envoy says

Washington has opened a communication line with Belarus to convey its position to the Russian leadership, U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said.

He noted that the U.S. participated in the release of several prisoners in Belarus for this reason.

“We know that (Belarusian leader Alexander) Lukashenko talks a lot with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. We established relations to make sure a communication line was open. That way we could ensure our message was fully delivered to President Putin,” Kellogg said at the Warsaw Security Forum.

He stressed that the initial goal of engaging with Minsk was communication with Moscow, not the release of political prisoners.

Kellogg also criticized former U.S. President Joe Biden for avoiding direct talks with Russia over Ukraine.

“I think this was one of the mistakes of the previous administration. President Biden didn’t even pick up the phone to speak with Putin about the war,” he said, adding that from a diplomatic perspective, “dialogue with adversaries is necessary.”