"Wonderful talks": Trump speaks to Belarusian President ahead of summit with Putin in Alaska

Washington, DC [US], August 15 : United States President Donald Trump on Friday said he had a "wonderful" conversation with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. He also mentioned discussing Putin's visit to Alaska during the call.
President Trump said that he telephoned Lukashenko to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners. Our conversation was a very good one."
He added that the two leaders also discussed the upcoming Trump-Putin Alaska meeting.
"We discussed many topics, including President Putin's visit to Alaska," Trump wrote.
The post concluded with Trump expressing hope for a future meeting with Lukashenko,"I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future. Thank you for your attention to this matter."
Trump's talks with the Belarusian leader come at a significant moment. According to CNN, Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is already under heavy US sanctions. The CNN network noted that he may have offered a different perspective on Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
CNN also reported that Lukashenko is sometimes referred to as "Europe's last dictator." He has publicly said he has no regrets about allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory to launch its invasion of Ukraine, and has called Putin his "older brother."
Citing Russian state media, CNN said that the upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska could last "at least six to seven hours."
Meanwhile, Trump issued a stern warning to Putin ahead of their summit in Alaska. Trump stated that Russia will face "severe economic consequences" if Putin doesn't show interest in de-escalating the Ukraine conflict.
"Yes, Russian President Vladimir Putin will face severe economic consequences if he is not interested. I am not doing this for my health. I don't need it. I would like to focus on our country. But I am doing this to save a lot of lives," said Trump.
He made the remarks on board US Air Force One on his way to attend the face-to-face meeting with Putin.
As per the White House, several officials are travelling with the US President aboard Air Force One. They include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Ambassador Steve Witkoff, amongst others.