US Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg is planning to visit Belarus in the coming days to meet with President Alexander Lukashenko, according to Reuters citing four sources briefed on the matter.

If the visit occurs, Kellogg would become the highest-ranking American official to visit Belarus in years. Two sources told Reuters that Kellogg has privately described the trip as a step that could help restart peace talks aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The meeting’s precise agenda remains unclear and planning for such visits requires careful negotiation. The trip could potentially be canceled or modified at the last minute, the sources indicated.

The last high-level US official visit to Belarus was in 2020 when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled there. Since then, visits have been limited to lower-ranking officials, such as the February 2025 trip by Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher W. Smith, aimed at securing the release of political prisoners.

The potential visit represents a shift in US-Belarus relations. The US suspended operations at its embassy in Belarus in 2022 after it became clear that Minsk would support Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration had distanced itself from Belarus following the 2020 election, which international observers condemned as neither free nor fair, and the subsequent crackdown on street protests.

One US official told Reuters that the Trump administration has internally discussed ways to pull Minsk away from Moscow’s influence, even if only marginally. However, Western diplomats have expressed skepticism about US efforts to court Belarus, which maintains strong alignment and economic ties with Russia.

Kellogg’s visit comes after two recent Istanbul meetings between Ukrainian and Russian delegations that were focused on trying to find an end to the war. Both of the resulted mainly in massive prisoner exchanges but little progress on a ceasefire.

During Istanbul talks on 2 June, Russia presented Ukraine with a memorandum outlining its conditions for peaceful settlement. These demands include: 

• Ukrainian military withdrawal from four occupied regions (some parts of which are not even occupied fully).
• written guarantees from Western leaders to halt “NATO’s eastward expansion”, effectively excluding Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet states from membership
• Ukraine adopting a neutral status and limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces.
• partial lifting of Western sanctions
• resolution of frozen Russian assets abroad
• protections for Russian speakers in Ukraine.

Ukraine rejected these demands, insisting on its sovereign right to choose alliances and strong Western security guarantees.

In contrast, Ukraine presented its own ceasefire proposals, as reported by Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller.

These include:

• complete cessation of hostilities 
• confidence-building measures such as the return of deported children and prisoner exchanges
• security assurances
• direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin
• international community involvement while maintaining Ukrainian sovereignty. 

Ukraine has received no response from Russia to its peace proposals handed over ahead of the second round of talks in Istanbul, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on 9 June during a joint press conference in Kyiv with Lithuanian counterpart Kęstutis Budrys, Suspilne reports.

Sybiha stated that Moscow has yet to reply to the “constructive proposals” Ukraine presented and accused the Kremlin of blocking the peace process.

“Instead, they (the Russian delegation, – Ed.) threw a list of ultimatums on the table in Istanbul, which are unacceptable to diplomats,” Sybiha said.

He emphasized the need to increase pressure on Russia and all entities aiding its war against Ukraine, pointing to the Kremlin’s actions as further proof of its unwillingness to pursue a peaceful resolution.

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Details of the Ukrainian memorandum

Suspilne previously obtained the full text of Ukraine’s memorandum presented during the Istanbul talks on 2 June. The document includes proposals for a ceasefire, monitoring of the truce, and a presidential meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.

It also calls for Russia’s unconditional return of all deported and displaced Ukrainian children, a full prisoner exchange, and the release of all civilian detainees. These measures are meant to cover all individuals affected since February 2014.

Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had disclosed on 28 May that the Ukrainian delegation had handed this memorandum to the head of the Russian negotiating team, Vladimir Medinsky.

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Russia’s conditions and response

During the 2 June session, Russia provided its own memorandum, which it claims includes steps for ending the war. According to this document, Russia demands a full withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, and recognition of these territories as Russian. The memorandum also requires Ukraine to adopt a neutral status, stop receiving weapons, and cease intelligence cooperation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described Russia’s memorandum as an “ultimatum.”