Kellogg to visit Belarus soon to meet Lukashenko – Reuters

Reuters reports this, citing sources.

According to them, Kellogg’s visit comes amid stalled efforts to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The meeting’s exact agenda remains unclear. However, Kellogg has privately described the trip as a possible first step toward starting peace talks to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department and the Belarusian embassy in Washington declined to comment. Kellogg and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment.

Reuters notes that such trips involve sensitive planning and could still be canceled or altered at the last minute.

If the meeting takes place, Kellogg would be the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the authoritarian country in recent years.

• In 2020, during Donald Trump’s presidency, then–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Belarus. At the time, it was the most senior U.S. visit to the country in over two decades.