Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has recounted some details of a recent telephone conversation he had with French President Emmanuel Macron, arguing that the leader of the Elysée should be the one to lead any dialogue with Moscow.
According to reports from the Belarusian news agency BelTA News, Lukashenko explained to Macron that, being the longest European leader in power, it would be up to him to take a central role in the talks with Russia.
The phrase that calls Meloni into question
When reporting the contents of the phone call, the Belarusian president added that such a task could not be entrusted to “a woman”, thus implicitly excluding the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
A statement destined to arouse controversy, both for the direct reference to the prime minister’s gender and for the international context in which it was pronounced, while diplomatic attempts continue to identify possible channels of dialogue with the Kremlin.
Macron’s role in relations with Moscow
Lukashenko justified his position by recalling Macron’s long political experience on the European scene. According to the Belarusian leader, the French president would be the most suitable figure to represent Europe in a possible confrontation with Russia.
The declarations arrive at a particularly delicate phase on a geopolitical level and are part of the debate on the role that the main European leaders could play in a possible negotiation process for the end of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.