Tertel on details of preparation of Lukashenko's meeting with US Presidential Special Envoy Kellogg

Belarus and the United States are in contact on many issues. Chairman of the State Security Committee Ivan Tertel told the TV channel about this. His department was among those who prepared the meeting with US Special Representative Keith Kellogg that took place in Minsk the day before (video).

The head of the KGB said that the preparation of the meeting was taking place against the backdrop of a difficult situation in the region and the world. "The President of Belarus, and our state as a whole, are doing everything possible to reach a consensus in order to reduce the level of escalation," he noted.

According to him, the event with the American side was not spontaneous. This is a systematic work that has been going on for over a year. Representatives of the American administration at various levels met with the head of state, and discussed a variety of issues - international and domestic. The KGB Chairman emphasized that General Kellogg is a special confidant of the US President: "This shows that the Republic of Belarus and the US are in contact on many issues that I would not like to talk about, but the discussion of which can lead to the solution of problems in many regions. And, in particular, where you and I live."

As for the preparation of the meeting and the decision on pardon, Ivan Tertel said that this was done, including in close contact with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. On the instructions of the President, all proposals from the American side were carefully studied, taking into account various aspects concerning the persons on the list from American partners. The Prosecutor General of Belarus was also involved in this work.

Ivan Tertel

"We worked with the Prosecutor General, who also carefully examined each person. And there was a very detailed, sometimes very heated discussion about each person. The next filter is the Pardon Commission under the President of Belarus. There are also lawyers there, everything is verified. And only after that, when there is a common opinion, and sometimes it does not coincide (the proposal is submitted to the President. - Ed.). Ultimately, as provided for by our legislation, the final point is in any case put by our head of state. And in this case, he also put the final point. It's just that the filter was especially thorough. And the elaboration was especially thorough," the KGB Chairman shared the details.

He emphasized that Alexander Lukashenko approached all aspects very carefully: "We understand that the criteria that the head of state was guided by were primarily humanitarian. We know the approach of our President. These are, first of all, the interests of the family, minor children. We know that those persons who were on the list have serious problems, both family and personal, in this regard. And they must be taken into account."

The second aspect is the need to develop good-neighborly relations with various countries in order to facilitate de-escalation of the current situation. "If no radical decisions are made to find a consensus (as we see, even on today's events), we may all find ourselves in a very, very difficult situation with consequences that we cannot even foresee at the present time," the KGB chief emphasized.

This is one of the reasons, according to the KGB chief, that a decision was made to pardon a number of individuals, including many foreign citizens of various countries. "Many of these individuals have been convicted of crimes related to espionage against our state, committing crimes in the sphere of ensuring the security of the Republic of Belarus, in the sphere of working for foreign intelligence services. And as you know, we do not have political prisoners. There is no such category. In relation to some of these individuals, family circumstances prevailed," Ivan Tertel said.

"Our head of state took this step at the request of the American administration, understanding that this will still lead to certain reciprocal steps, probably, by other states. And we will generally achieve some kind of consensus, and in Europe we will have peace, we will reach a solution to the issues in a constructive way," the head of the department said.

In addition, in a conversation with Ivan Tertel, the nuances of the ongoing exchanges between Russia and Ukraine were touched upon, as well as issues of the KGB's work in the difficult conditions of the modern international agenda.