Interview with U.S. channel Newsmax

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko gave an interview to the U.S. media company Newsmax on 13 December.

“I am a strong supporter of Trump. I also have a close relative – the president of Russia [Aleksandr Lukashenko often refers to Vladimir Putin as his ‘older brother’]. And I have a very good friend (from long ago, even before he became the leader of his country) – Xi Jinping. So please don’t ask any nasty questions about these three people. It's just a joke,” the head of state told the interviewer Greta Conway Van Susteren.

The head of state shared his vision for the future of relations between Belarus and the United States.

The interview also addressed prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine and the role of U.S. President Donald Trump in this process.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also answered questions about his personal impressions from interactions with several foreign leaders, including President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China.

Another topic was the situation surrounding Venezuela and the growing tensions in its relations with the United States amid accusations of drug trafficking.

According to the head of state, the interest of the United States of America in nearby Venezuela is quite understandable. As is, for example, Russia’s interest in the situation in Ukraine.

“I am absolutely convinced that all issues, all wishes of the United States of America can be resolved today in an absolutely peaceful way,” the President emphasized. “War will lead nowhere. Yesterday [the talks held on 12 December] I spoke to John Coale about this. I told him this would be a second Vietnam. Do you need that? You don’t. So, there is no need to wage war there. It’s possible to reach an agreement.”

“I believe that in the near future we will have the chance to speak on this topic with Donald Trump. I have many interesting things to tell him,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In an interview Aleksandr Lukashenko was asked whether Belarus was ready to shelter Nicolas Maduro if he retired from the office of the Venezuelan President.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Maduro has never been our enemy or adversary. Never. If he wanted to come to Belarus, our doors are always open for him. But frankly speaking, we’ve never talked about it. Maduro is not the kind of man to leave everything and flee. He is a strong person of the Hugo Chavez variety. He is a strong man, a decent and sensible person one can talk to and come to terms with.”

The Belarusian head of state remarked that he was aware of idle talk in the mass media community regarding an alleged agreement that Nicolas Maduro would come to Belarus and would live here. “We’ve never talked about it with Maduro. To be honest, we talk to Americans about Venezuela more than we do with Maduro about his retirement and some actions. He is a heroic man,” the head of state stressed.

Speaking about the current situation in the relations between the United States and Venezuela, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted: “I think that we will be able to discuss this topic with Donald Trump soon. I have a lot of interesting things to tell him."

As it has been reported, the telephone conversation between the Presidents of Belarus and the United States, Aleksandr Lukashenko and Donald Trump, took place on 15 August 2025. The leaders of the two countries reached an agreement to continue contacts.

During that conversation, the bilateral agenda and the prospects for the development of relations between Belarus and the United States were discussed. Regional issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, were also addressed. The leaders also touched upon events in the Middle East.

One of the questions to the head of state concerned the relations between Venezuela and the United States. The conversation addressed, among other things, the USA’s refusal to recognize the outcome of Venezuela’s Presidential election, which resulted in a victory for Nicolas Maduro.

Regarding this, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted a certain similarity between what happened in the United States and Venezuela during the Presidential elections. “It’s just like in the USA there: a 50/50 situation, with Maduro having a slight edge. If you want all Venezuelans to rally around Maduro (Americans probably don’t want that, and Trump doesn’t either), then you will start a war against Venezuela. This must not be done under any circumstances,” the head of state believes.

The President noted that he does not see any particular problem with the United States not recognizing the voting results in one country or another. “The USA did not recognize the results of the elections not only in Venezuela. Under [former U.S. President Joe] Biden, you didn’t recognize elections anywhere,” said the Belarusian leader.

“The fact that you did not recognize the elections in Venezuela – well, so be it. Venezuela didn’t hold elections for the Americans. Venezuelans held elections for their own people, for themselves. And the results are known. There are no other results. Did you count the votes there instead of the Central Election Commission? No, you didn’t,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In this context, he recalled how the U.S. Presidential election campaign unfolded in 2020. At that time, Donald Trump and Joe Biden vied for the U.S. presidency, and the election process was accompanied by numerous scandals and violations, including in the vote count.

“Well, it’s not for Americans to count votes in Venezuela. Remember when Trump, as we say, was dumped, toppled in the last election? You found ballots under fences there. You had voting by mail,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “It was your elections that were completely falsified when Biden won and Trump was cast aside. Isn’t it true? Today Americans, with such electoral baggage, did not recognize the elections in Venezuela, in Belarus, or elsewhere. Fine, whatever. You didn’t recognize them, your prerogative.”

The discussion of current difficulties in U.S.-Venezuela relations also addressed the issue of drug trafficking from Latin American countries into the United States.

The head of state noted that alongside the drug trade, there are other global problems, including human trafficking, sex exploitation and illegal arms trade. “These are the realities of our time. We must fight them. But you cannot defeat drugs with missiles,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko supports the United States and President Donald Trump in their determination to combat illegal migration and drug trafficking. “Trump deserves credit for bringing this issue to the forefront,” the Belarusian President believes. He simultaneously emphasized, however, the unique nature of such challenges and the impossibility of achieving sustainable, long-term results either unilaterally or through the sole use of force. “The fight against this problem will continue after us. Our children will fight against it. This is a new phenomenon in a new era. You cannot defeat it with missiles. We must agree on joint actions. We must define joint measures of fighting it,” the head of state is convinced.

The problem of drug trafficking is relevant for Belarus, Russia, and the entire European region. To solve it, it is necessary to understand the causes and adopt well-considered measures. “Drugs flow from Asian East through Russia, through Belarus, into enlightened Europe, into the ‘Garden of Eden’. Why do they go there? Because they are in high demand there, more than anywhere else,” the President explained. “There is a high demand, so the drugs flow.” And from European Union countries, synthetic drugs travel in the opposite direction.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus has put up a strong barrier at the border against drug trafficking and wages an uncompromising fight against this evil inside the country. Nevertheless, it has not been possible to completely eliminate it. To achieve this, joint actions by all European countries are needed, as was the case before Europeans closed their border with Belarus and imposed sanctions.“We used to work closely with the Europeans, the Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians and Ukrainians to fight against drug trafficking. We intercepted them here and burned them by tonnes. That kind of cooperation doesn't exist now. I'm not going to protect them against this,” the President said. “If someone threw a noose around your neck to hang you, would you protect those who decided to execute you? Am I supposed to protect Europe in this situation? Why should I? They are strangling me, and I'm supposed to protect them against drugs?”

Drawing analogies with the situation between the United States and Venezuela, Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that it would be better for the parties to find a compromise. “This problem [drug trafficking] is not Venezuelan, not Afghan. It is global. And the approach must be systemic and involve all countries along the transit routes,” he concluded. “It is a planetary problem that we must fight. Not with missiles. We must seek, perhaps, new methods. We need to act smart, not wage war,” the head of state stated.

The President, responding to the journalist's question, cast doubt on the objectivity of the U.S. data regarding the volume of drug trafficking from Venezuela. He also dismissed any involvement of Nicolás Maduro in such activities: “You don't have such facts, and neither do I. I don't believe that's the case.”