Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko released 123 prisoners this Saturday (13), including Ales Bialiatski, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, and opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava, after two days of negotiations with an envoy from President Donald Trump, according to a United States press release.
In exchange, the United States agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash. The former Soviet state is one of the world’s leading producers of the mineral, an essential component of fertilizers.
It is the largest prisoner release ordered by Lukashenko since the Trump administration began negotiations this year with the dictator, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Western governments had previously avoided negotiating with Lukashenko because of the crackdown on the opposition in Belarus and the country’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Bialiatski, one of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, is a human rights activist who fought for years on behalf of political prisoners before becoming one himself. He has been in prison since July 2021.
Kalesnikava, leader of protests against Lukashenko in 2020, and Viktar Babarika, arrested that year as he prepared to run in elections against the leader, were also released.
Tatsiana Khomich, Kalesnikava’s sister, told the Reuters news agency that she had spoken to him by phone. “She told me that she was very happy to be free, that she was grateful to the United States and Trump for their efforts in leading the process, and to all the countries involved.”
It was not immediately clear where the freed prisoners would be taken after their release. In the past, those released had left Belarus via Lithuania.
U.S. officials told Reuters that engagement with Lukashenko was part of an effort to remove him from Putin’s influence, at least to some extent – an effort that the Belarusian opposition has, until now, viewed with skepticism.
“As directed by President Trump, we, the United States, will lift sanctions on potash,” Trump envoy John Coale told reporters in Minsk.
The United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus when Minsk launched a violent crackdown on protesters following the disputed 2020 election, arresting almost all of Lukashenko’s opponents who had not fled abroad.
Sanctions were intensified after Lukashenko allowed Belarus to serve as a base for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Belarusian opposition in exile also expressed gratitude to Trump. According to them, the fact that Lukashenko agreed to release prisoners in exchange for concessions on potash is proof of the effectiveness of the sanctions.
Opponents have said they view Trump’s approach to Lukashenko as a humanitarian effort, but believe EU sanctions should remain in place.
“US sanctions concern people. European sanctions aim for systemic change: stopping the war, enabling democratic transition and ensuring accountability. These approaches do not contradict each other; they complement each other,” wrote exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in a statement.
Lukashenko has on other occasions denied the existence of political prisoners in Belarus and called the people in question bandits. As recently as August, he questioned why he should release people he considers opponents of the state and who might “go to war again.”
Trump described Lukashenko as “the highly respected president of Belarus”, contradicting the view of his opponents, who consider him a dictator. The American urged the Belarusian to release up to 1,400 prisoners, described by Trump as hostages.
“The United States stands ready to further engage with Belarus that advances U.S. interests and will continue to make diplomatic efforts to free remaining political prisoners in the country,” the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania wrote in a statement.
Belarusian human rights group Viasna, which Minsk labels an extremist organization, estimated the total number of political prisoners in the country at 1,227, before Saturday’s releases.
The official Belta news agency quoted Trump envoy Coale as saying he discussed a wide range of issues with Lukashenko, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the situation in Venezuela.
Lukashenko recently met with two senior Venezuelan diplomats and said the South American country’s dictator, Nicolas Maduro, would be welcome in Belarus. Trump pressures Maduro to resign.
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