American officials arrived in Belarus on Wednesday, February 12, to meet with self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko. The US is reportedly looking to strike a deal where it would ease sanctions in exchange for Belarus releasing political prisoners.
The NYT writes about this.
Belarus on Wednesday, February 12, released three political prisoners, including one American.
At the same time, for the first time in five years, the Belarusian leader met with representatives of the US State Department. The head of the KGB also met with American officials.
The United States was represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Smith and two other unnamed American officials.
Two sources who were at a meeting between American officials and Western diplomats in Vilnius, Lithuania, told the NYT: Smith says the Trump administration is considering a "grand deal" in which Lukashenko would agree to release "numerous" political prisoners, and the US would ease sanctions against Belarusian banks and the export of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizers, the main producer of which is Belarus.
The publication notes that Smith, who led US policy towards Belarus during the Biden administration, began preliminary discussions with US allies last year on easing sanctions.
He said he asked Lukashenko if he was willing to ease the repression and was told he was. Smith told diplomats that another important goal was to give Lukashenko “a little respite outside of Russia’s orbit of influence”.
Piotr Krawczyk, the former head of Polandʼs foreign intelligence service, who worked with the first Trump administration to weaken Russiaʼs influence in Belarus, said that Belarus is "part of a broader American approach to Russia".
"Negotiations with Belarus create additional leverage for the US to signal to Russia that they should be more attentive to American arguments," he believes.
According to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, there are currently 1 226 political prisoners in Belarus.
In July 2024, Belarus enacted an amnesty law that covers certain categories of political prisoners. At the same time, the first political prisoners were released from prison. Lukashenko has released more than 200 political prisoners in recent months, including two Americans.
- The United States and many Western countries did not recognize the results of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, which was marred by fraud. This led to sanctions and international isolation of the Belarusian regime.
- The Belarusian authorities, led by Alexander Lukashenko, have been actively suppressing the opposition, independent media, and activists, especially after the 2020 protests, when massive human rights violations, illegal arrests, torture, and violence against protesters were recorded.
- Belarus became an important ally of Russia in the war against Ukraine, providing its territory for the deployment of Russian troops and facilitating Russian military operations. This has been the reason for most of the sanctions against the country.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.