August M
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro would be free to come to Belarus if he ever left office, while insisting no such plan has been discussed. His remarks come amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas and renewed talk of possible US military action.
Lukashenko framed his comments as part of a broader warning against escalation.
Offer without talks
According to reporting by TVP World, Lukashenko made the comments in an interview with US outlet Newsmax.
He said Belarus and Venezuela have long-standing relations and that Maduro would be welcome in Minsk if he chose to go there.
“Maduro was never an enemy or an adversary for us. If he wanted to come to Belarus, the doors for him are open,” Lukashenko said.
However, he stressed that the issue had never been raised formally. “But let me tell you honestly, this has never been discussed. Nicolas Maduro is not the sort of person who leaves or flees. He is one tough guy.”
Tensions with Washington
The remarks come as relations between the United States and Venezuela remain strained.
The US has increased its military presence in the southern Caribbean, carried out strikes on vessels it says are linked to drug trafficking and issued warnings that ground operations could follow.
The Venezuelan government has accused Washington of seeking regime change in order to gain control over the country’s oil reserves, TVPWorld reports.
Message to Trump
Lukashenko said he would welcome direct talks with US President Donald Trump on Venezuela and other international issues. He argued that conflict could be avoided through negotiation.
“I am absolutely convinced that all issues, all the wishes of the United States of America can be resolved today in a peaceful manner,” he said.
“I think that in the near future we will be able to discuss this matter with Donald Trump. I would tell him many interesting things. A war would lead to nothing,” TVPWorld notes.
Warning against war
According to TVPWorld, the Belarusian leader said military action against Venezuela would backfire, comparing it to the Vietnam War. “A war would be a second Vietnam. Do you need this? You don’t,” he said.
He argued that conflict would only strengthen domestic support for Maduro, whom he described as “a decent, reasonable man with whom you can come to an agreement”.
Lukashenko also questioned US claims about large-scale drug flows from Venezuela, saying he did not believe the accusations.
Sanctions and drugs
Turning to Europe, Lukashenko said Belarus had played a major role in stopping drug trafficking from Asia into Western Europe.
However, he warned that Minsk would no longer do so if sanctions linked to human rights abuses and Belarus’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine continued.
“They are strangling me and I am supposed to protect them from drugs?” he said.
He added that similar pressure was being applied to Venezuela, arguing that compromise, not coercion, was the only way forward, TVPWorld reports.
Sources: TVP World, Newsmax
