Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik urged an immediate halt to hostilities in Ukraine and called for peace talks to begin without delay. Speaking during an official visit to Hungary, Aleinik emphasized Minsk’s clear stance: the murder of civilians must stop, a ceasefire should be declared at once, and negotiations should start as soon as possible.
He noted that for a ceasefire to hold, both sides must halt the movement of military matériel, personnel, and ammunition. The focus, he said, is on creating the conditions that allow meaningful talks to proceed rather than allowing fighting to continue in the meantime.
Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested that any chance of armistice discussions between Moscow and Kyiv would be unlikely at this moment. He argued that Russia needs to reach a point where it is prepared to engage in constructive negotiations, with the ultimate goal being a just and enduring peace for all involved. Blinken’s assessment reflects a belief that a durable settlement requires both sides to demonstrate genuine readiness to accept negotiated compromises, underlining the fragile nature of any potential ceasefire while the conflict persists. — TASS