Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Belarus has agreed to release 25 prisoners as part of a deal that includes the lifting of some US sanctions on Belarusian companies, US special envoy for Belarus John Coale said on Wednesday after meeting President Alexander Lukashenko.
Coale said the talks marked significant progress and signalled further movement in ties between Washington and Minsk. Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported that the US will lift sanctions imposed on two Belarusian companies, while Lukashenko has also pressed for the remaining US sanctions on his country to be removed.
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“25 prisoners are free today!” Coale said on X, adding that “President Trump’s commitment to direct diplomacy delivers results.” He also thanked Lukashenko and authorities in Lithuania, which borders Belarus and is a member of the European Union, for their support.
“We will continue to improve US-Belarus relations and are working to secure the release of more people in the very near future,” Coale said. “We are not finished!” Belarusian authorities have not yet announced details of the prisoners’ release.
Lukashenko has ruled Belarus, a country of 9.5 million people, for more than three decades. Western countries have repeatedly imposed sanctions on Belarus over its human rights crackdown and for allowing Moscow to use its territory during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House for a second term, Lukashenko has released hundreds of political prisoners in a series of US-mediated deals that also led to some easing of US sanctions. Before meeting Coale, Lukashenko said he was open to discussing “a deal big or small” and wanted to talk about lifting more US sanctions and exporting Belarusian fertilisers to the US.
In March, under a deal helped by Washington, Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners. In return, the US agreed to lift sanctions on two Belarusian state banks and the country’s Finance Ministry, and remove the leading Belarusian potash producers from a sanctions list. In April, another deal led to the release of prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut in a swap with Poland that freed 10 people in total.
Lukashenko’s rule came under pressure after the 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands protested against a result they said was rigged. The crackdown that followed led to tens of thousands being detained, with many beaten by police, while leading opposition figures either fled Belarus or were jailed. Five years after those demonstrations, Lukashenko secured a seventh term last year in an election the opposition called a farce.
The Belarusian opposition has welcomed Coale’s efforts as an important humanitarian mission, while stressing that Lukashenko’s government has continued to jail more political prisoners. Opposition leader-in-exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Tuesday that she was deeply grateful to Trump, Coale and the US administration for “making political prisoners a priority”, adding that “their engagement has already brought real results.” But she said that “repression continues” and Lukashenko “continues supporting Russia’s war.” “The purpose should be to empty the prisons, not to rehabilitate the dictatorship,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
The latest deal adds to a series of prisoner releases linked to US-Belarus talks, even as sanctions, political repression and wider tensions over Belarus’ ties with Russia remain central to the relationship. According to the Viasna human rights centre, Belarus still has 887 political prisoners.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
