Belarus leader hosts US envoy as he seeks to improve his country’s ties with the West
Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko On Friday, he hosted a US envoy for talks in the Belarusian capital Minsk; This was the final step in the isolated leader’s efforts to improve relations with the West.
Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, according to state news agency Belta and the presidential press service. The talks will continue on Saturday, the press service said.
In the last meeting of US officials with Lukashenko, Washington announced that some of the sanctions against Belarus had been eased and more than 50 political prisoners were released and brought to Lithuania. Overall, Belarus has released more than 430 prisoners since July 2024, in a move seen as an effort to engage with the West.
Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying: “They say Trump likes to flatter. But I do not aim to flatter. I want to say that I really like his recent actions.”
Minsk, a close ally of Russia, has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Lukashenko ruled the nation Over three decades, 9.5 million people have been killed with an iron fist and the country has been subjected to sanctions by Western countries many times. – both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lukashenko’s rule was challenged after the 2020 presidential elections that kept him in power, with tens of thousands of people turning out. took to the streets to protest a vote thought to be fraudulent. These were the largest demonstrations in Belarusian history since the country gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In the ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands of people were detained, many beaten by police. Leading opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.
Five years after mass demonstrations, Lukashenko wins seventh term in an election that the opposition called a farce.
However, recently Belarus has begun to release some political prisoners to gain favor with the West. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners, including these. Notable opposition figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski – husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. His release followed a visit to Belarus by US envoy Keith Kellogg.
Following such a statement, Trump spoke to Lukashenko on the phone in August and even suggested a face-to-face meeting, which would be a major victory for the Belarusian leader, who has been called “Europe’s Last Dictator”.
A month later, Lukashenko released more than 50 prisoners and the United States lifted sanctions against the country’s national airline, Belavia, allowing the company to repair its planes, including Boeing planes, and buy parts.
Those released were brought to Lithuania. However, prominent opposition activist Mikola Statkevich refused to leave Belarus. The 69-year-old described the government’s actions as follows: “forced deportation” He got off the bus and spent several hours in the neutral zone between the countries before being taken away by Belarusian police. went back to prison.
Human rights defenders say that despite the release of prisoners, Belarusian authorities continue their brutal crackdown on dissidents, and more and more people are arrested on politically motivated charges.
There are still about 1,200 political prisoners in Belarus, according to human rights group Viasna, whose founder includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski.
