'A power addict' Belarus's leader treads tightrope between Russia and the west

At the presidential palace in Minsk, Europe's longestserving leader smiled broadly as he accepted a small metal box from a visiting US delegation.

- Pjotr Sauer

Inside lay a pair of embossed.

White House cufflinks - a personal gift from Donald Trump to Alexander Lukashenko, who revelled in the attention after years as a western pariah.

Since Trump took office, Lukashenko, an authoritarian strongman who has ruled Belarus since 1994, has been edging out of the diplomatic freeze, cautiously probing for space beyond Moscow, which sees Belarus as its closest ally and a vital buffer.

Sensing a political opening with the Trump administration, Lukashenko has regularly met US officials and even held a phone call with the US president, who has floated the idea of a meeting.

Some in Washington see Lukashenko as a potential interlocutor with Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine. Keith Kellogg, Trump's envoy to Ukraine, has privately said he places a high value on Lukashenko's insights into the Russian leader according to a source familiar with the talks.

Meanwhile, European diplomatic sources have said there are tentative discussions in Brussels over whether the EU's policy of isolating Belarus remains effective, and if offering Lukashenko a way out of Moscow's shadow should be considered.

Belarus had also signalled openness to talks, the two sources said.

"People who hadn't dared say the word 'president' since 2020 now want to talk," Lukashenko boasted to a domestic audience in July. "They are discussing global issues with your president - that already counts for something. It shows they respect his opinion." For much of his three decades in power, Lukashenko - often described as Europe's last dictator - has built his survival on the art of hedging between Moscow and the west. He relied on generously subsidised Russian oil and gas to keep Belarus's state-run economy afloat, while leaving the door ajar to Brussels whenever Moscow pressed too hard, occasionally dangling promises of democratic reform that never materialised.