US President Donald Trump has said that he has held a "wonderful talk" with Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, whom he described as"highly respected". Source: Trump on his social media platform Truth Social,

President Trump said he spoke to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on his way to the summit in Alaska to thank him for recently releasing prisoners. "The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners,

President Vladimir Putin spoke to the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan on Sunday to update them on the summit with U.S. President Donald Trump which the Kremlin has cast as a potentially significant stepping stone towards peace in Ukraine.