Trump's envoy meets Belarus leader Lukashenko in bid to negotiate more prisoner releases
Trump's envoy meets Belarus leader Lukashenko in bid to negotiate more prisoner releases
By Mark TrevelyanThu, March 19, 2026 at 8:42 AM UTC
0
U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale looks on as prisoners released from Belarus arrive at the U.S. embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania December 13, 2025. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo
By Mark Trevelyan
March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. presidential envoy John Coale met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday on his latest mission to try to negotiate the release of political prisoners.
Coale has been tasked by U.S. President Donald Trump with trying to free what human rights groups say are more than 1,100 Belarusians currently behind bars because of political or human rights activity.
Lukashenko's administration published a photograph of Thursday's meeting on its Telegram channel.
Previous talks between Coale and Lukashenko resulted in the release of dozens of political prisoners last September and a further 123 in December, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and opposition politicians Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka.
In return, the U.S. removed sanctions on Belarusian potash - a key ingredient in fertilisers - and is discussing the possible reopening of its embassy in Minsk, which was closed in 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin used Belarus as a launchpad for his invasion of Ukraine.
Advertisement
Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was long treated as a pariah by the West because of his human rights record and backing for Russia in the conflict. But Trump's diplomacy has offered him a path towards easing his isolation.
The U.S. side has made clear it sees value in cultivating him, given his close ties with Putin, and says he has offered good advice as the U.S. seeks to end the four-year war in Ukraine.
U.S. officials have told Reuters that Washington also hopes, by engaging with him, to peel him away to some degree from Putin.
The exiled Belarusian opposition says any such attempt is pointless because Lukashenko is heavily dependent on Putin's political and economic support. But it has expressed gratitude to Trump and Coale over the prisoner releases.
Lukashenko said in December that Belarus was moving towards a "big deal" with the U.S. on restoring relations, which would involve a summit between him and Trump, but this would not be at the expense of his relationship with Russia.
(Reporting by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
Source: “AOL Breaking”
