US lifts sanctions on Belarus potash

President Donald Trump’s envoy, John Coale, said in a statement after two days of talks with President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk that the United States lifted sanctions on the Belarusian pot.

Coale, who was tasked by Trump with negotiating the release of more than 1,000 political prisoners, called it a good move for Belarus but did not say what Lukashenko agreed to do in return.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, is a major producer of potassium, a key component of fertilizer.

In the video footage published on the Telegram channel of Lukashenko’s presidential administration, Coale was heard saying, “In accordance with President Trump’s instructions, we, the United States, will lift the sanctions on potash.”

The United States and the European Union imposed sweeping sanctions on Belarus and jailed almost all of Lukashenko’s opponents who did not flee abroad after Minsk launched a violent crackdown on protesters following a disputed election in 2020.

Sanctions were tightened after Lukashenko allowed Belarus to be used as a staging area for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Reacting to the news that US sanctions on potash will be lifted, senior Belarusian opposition official Franak Viacorka said that the EU’s sanctions on potash, which include an export ban through European ports, are more important than US sanctions.

“Lukashenko has not changed his policy. The pressure continues and he continues to support Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Viacorka told Reuters.

“We must therefore be extremely careful in any talk of sanctions relief so that we do not strengthen Russia’s war machine or reward continued pressure.”

Coale said he believes Lukashenko’s closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin could be useful in the context of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.