U.S. Special Envoy John Coale said that during negotiations with Alyaksandr Lukashenka on March 19, he raised the issue of ongoing arrests in Belarus. He stated this in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
“This seems to be the first time I raised the issue of new arrests while people are being released. That is, we release 10 people, and they arrest 10 more? I hope we managed to convey to him (Lukashenka) that this is unacceptable,” Coale said.
“I think it is important to give Lukashenka and the regime credit for releasing people. It takes two to tango. We are partners. He is a partner. He does not have to do this, and we do not have to do this. We are working together to free people for humanitarian reasons. Lukashenka wants to be a global player, like most heads of state. And as I told him personally: if you want to be a global player, you cannot behave like this,” he added.
According to Coale, the agreement to allow released political prisoners to remain in Belarus was achieved through “fairly intense” negotiations over recent months.
“We instructed them to return home for the time being and behave calmly so that we can secure the release of the remaining prisoners, and they agreed to that,” Coale said about the 235 released political prisoners who stayed in Belarus.
He also expressed hope that all political prisoners could be released by the end of the year. In exchange, the United States would lift sanctions on Belarus, though not all of them.
“Eighty percent of the sanctions were imposed after the events of 2020, when people were массово арестовывали и сажали в тюрьмы. If people are released, there will be no reason to keep those 80% of sanctions. The remaining 20% are related to other issues. But if they meet us halfway and we free all these people, every single one, then the sanctions will be lifted. This is the agreement reached between the United States and Belarus,” Coale said.
He noted that this agreement has not yet been formally finalized.
Earlier today, Lukashenka said he agrees to a “big deal” with the United States, though its details remain unclear. According to him, it includes issues such as political prisoners, embassy operations, nuclear materials, drug trafficking, and customs matters. He also said he is ready to travel to Florida to meet Donald Trump.
On March 19, following the talks between Coale and Lukashenka, 250 political prisoners were released. Fifteen of them were deported to Lithuania without passports, while the rest began to be released inside Belarus today.
