Belarus UN Envoy Reports Regular and Constructive Talks with US Special Envoy Coale

On 28 July Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko received a report from the Permanent Representative of Belarus to the United Nations. The head of state was interested in the dynamics and prospects of Belarusian-American relations. Valentin Rybakov had been a witness to several rounds of Belarusian-American talks in Minsk in 2025 and 2026.

Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus:

“The United Nations is a powerful organization, and of course our interest is present there, but I will not hide that I am currently more interested in Belarusian-American relations, which you (Valentin Rybakov) have to work on by my instruction. You yourself did not ask to go there, but both the honor and a great deal of work on establishing relations between the USA and Belarus have fallen on your shoulders.”

The President of Belarus noted that Valentin Rybakov works in close contact with John Coale, to whom he asked to convey the warmest wishes — both to him personally and to his wife. Lukashenko emphasized that he trusts Coale.

He also reported that he carefully reads all the documents that Rybakov transmits — down to the word and the comma. The President stated that he has formed certain impressions and opinions regarding the United States of America and their wishes. He stressed that he knows how to read between the lines, and here the matter is not in the lines themselves but in the spirit of thinking of the American leadership.

In this connection the Belarusian leader instructed not to try to embellish anything in the transmitted information, even if John Coale might want this, because the head of state is an experienced person and knows how things really stand. At the same time he emphasized that the current situation in bilateral relations, especially their dynamics and prospects, is developing quite well.

Rybakov: Contacts with the American Side Are Stable and Regular

Belarus’s Permanent Representative to the UN did not rule out new visits by US Special Envoy John Coale to Belarus. Valentin Rybakov noted that he regularly holds meetings with him and also stressed the stable and regular nature of Belarusian-American contacts.

Valentin Rybakov, Permanent Representative of Belarus to the UN:

“Our contacts with the American side are of a very stable nature; they continue and are of a very regular character. Probably once a week or every 10 days I have meetings with Mr. Coale and with other representatives of the American side as necessary. He is, as you know, the main negotiator from the American side. We discuss those issues that we can resolve in our bilateral relations, the next steps that both sides can and should take after his previous visit. Possibly subsequent visits will be discussed. I will not announce specific things or dates right now. But believe me, the dialogue is going very openly, in a friendly manner and in a substantive way. We hope that in some foreseeable future we will see the fruits of this dialogue.”