US president's envoy visits Minsk

The meeting took place on Thursday, March 19. One of the topics discussed was the release of political prisoners. „We are discussing our bilateral relations, from the work of the embassy to the release of so-called political prisoners,” Lukashenko stated.

Previous talks in this format were held in December of last year. As a result of those negotiations, 123 prisoners were released. Among them were Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, 2020 presidential candidate Viktar Babaryka, and his campaign member and prominent opposition figure Maryia Kalesnikava.

Of course, Alexander Lukashenko did not decide to release political prisoners out of the goodness of his heart. In exchange for the amnesty, the US removed sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key ingredient in fertilisers and the main source of Belarusian export revenue.

According to data presented by human rights organisations (such as the Belarusian group Viasna), more than 1,100 people currently imprisoned can be considered political prisoners.

US–Belarus relations are improving. The turning point came with Donald Trump’s presidency, during which Lukashenko began to be treated as a serious partner. Previous US administrations, along with Europe, had isolated the Belarusian regime. Observing the current international situation, Europe should also reconsider its policy toward Belarus. The previous policy of isolation forced Lukashenko to seek closer ties and integration with the Russian Federation, to the overall detriment of Europe. The Belarusian opposition claims that any attempts to warm relations are pointless because Lukashenko is already far too dependent on Putin’s economic and political support.