On negotiations with the US, the meeting between Putin and Trump, Ukraine, and his successor. The main points from Lukashenko's interview with Time magazine
August 8, 2025
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko gave an interview to the American magazine Time.
The publication's correspondent Simon Shuster met with the head of the Belarusian state on July 25, but the media outlet and the interviewer's name were not disclosed until now. This was the magazine's request – to maintain intrigue and exclusivity of the material. And it is even more interesting two weeks later, reading the news of recent days, to analyze this conversation. A few days after the interview, Alexander Lukashenko held informal negotiations with his Russian counterpart in Valaam. And Vladimir Putin recently met with an American delegation. Will these events and their repercussions fit into one puzzle?
But let's get back to the interview. Alexander Lukashenko spoke with the journalist for about three hours, including off-the-record. A large number of resonant topics were touched upon in the interview. The conversation was frank and substantive. Key points are in our material.
How the Time journalist got to Belarus and what prompted the interview
At the very beginning of the interview, journalist Simon Shuster described how he got to Minsk and why he requested the meeting at this particular time. "I really appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, especially at a time when relations between the United States and Belarus are developing in an interesting way," said the journalist, referring to recent visits by American diplomats to Minsk, which caused great interest.
"This activation, if I may say so, of the dialogue between the Trump administration and the state of Belarus," he added.
According to him, the editorial board considered this a particularly interesting moment to organize a trip to Belarus and an interview with its President, as well as to understand what was happening there through their correspondent.