Lukashenko Urges US to Negotiate with Venezuela and Free Maduro

MINSK, April 20, 2026 — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has bluntly advised the United States to step back, release Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and reach an agreement with Caracas.

In his interview with RT, reported by state news agency BELTA, the Belarusian leader said: “What will you do with Maduro? If you haven’t gone completely mad, you should retreat. There is no need to admit mistakes or anything else. Just retreat and release this man — negotiate with Venezuela.

”He added that the Venezuelans themselves would sort things out, “because they know what the United States of America is like — just as other states in the Western Hemisphere do.”

Lukashenko acknowledged that Venezuela had faced serious problems that generated public discontent, making it relatively easy for the US to intervene and remove the country’s leader. Yet he remains convinced Washington could — and should — have chosen the path of negotiation with Caracas.

“I say this because we discussed the issue with a US delegation,” he explained. “They were absolutely pragmatic people. I told them: there is no need to fight the Venezuelans — you need to negotiate with them.

”Turning to Venezuelan oil, Lukashenko noted that it is ultimately destined for refining in the United States and will reach American refineries one way or another. On this issue too, he believes, the Americans could have struck a deal directly with Maduro.

Instead, Washington opted to kidnap the Venezuelan president — a man who, in Lukashenko’s words, “could not tolerate the dictation” of the United States.