US EditionBelarus frees Nobel winner, top opposition figures as US lifts more sanctions
Belarus freed 123 political prisoners including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski after US envoy talks; US lifted sanctions on potash which accounted for 20% of global supply.
- On Dec 13, U.S. special envoy John Coale announced the United States will lift sanctions on Belarusian potash per the instructions of President Trump after Minsk talks.
- Sanctions stem from Belarus's violent 2020 crackdown and its role in Russia's 2022 invasion, isolating the 9.5 million nation ruled by Alexander Lukashenko for decades.
- Coale said he discussed Russia's war in Ukraine and Venezuela with Alexander Lukashenko and argued Lukashenko's closeness to Vladimir Putin could aid diplomacy, while tasked by President Donald Trump to negotiate over 1,000 political prisoners' release.
- Belarus released 123 prisoners, including Maria Kalesnikava and Ales Bialiatski, in a deal linked to lifting potash sanctions, and Kalesnikava's sister said `I just talked to Maria on video`.
- The decision signals a thaw between the United States and Belarus, a major potash producer, but critics like Franak Viacorka warn easing sanctions risks empowering Russia's war machine or rewarding repression.
218 Articles
218 Articles
Belarus Frees 123 Political Prisoners in US-Brokered Deal
Belarus has freed 123 political prisoners in an unprecedented deal brokered by the United States. The releases were carried out under “agreements reached with U.S. President Donald Trump and at his request,” Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s office said in a statement posted on its official Telegram channel on Dec. 13. It is also tied to the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Belarus’s potash industry, as well as Washington’s commitment to r…
Regime opponents breathe after the release of oppositionists. But the US diplomacy makes their situation hopeless.
Belarus frees over 100 political prisoners after Trump lifts sanctions
Belarus freed more than 100 political prisoners, including one U.S. citizen, on Saturday after President Donald Trump began lifting sanctions on a key Belarusian export. “The latest release of 123 individuals, including one U.S. citizen, six citizens of U.S. Allies, and five Ukrainian citizens, is a significant milestone in U.S.-Belarus engagement,” a U.S. official said, per Politico. “The United States stands ready for additional engagement wit…
Bialiatski commented on his release along with 123 other political prisoners, assured that the fight will continue
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