TALLINN, ESTONIA — TALLINN, ESTONIA (AP) – Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko On Thursday, the Belarusian capital hosted a US envoy for talks in Minsk, the latest step in the isolated leader’s effort to improve ties with the West.
According to the presidential press service, Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus John Cooley. State news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying that topics on the agenda included restoring the normal functioning of the US Embassy in Minsk, which had suspended operations in 2022, the “release of so-called political prisoners” as well as sanctions and other economic issues.
The last time US officials met Lukashenko in December, Washington announced some easing of sanctions against Belarus and 123 prisoners were released and sent to Ukraine and Lithuania. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners through July 2024 in what was widely seen as an effort to rapprochement with the West.
Minsk, a close Russian ally, has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Lukashenko ruled the country 9.5 million people have been banned and the country has been sanctioned for more than three decades repeatedly by western countries – For a harsh crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lukashenko’s rule was challenged following the 2020 presidential election, which kept him in power, when thousands thrown into the streets Protesting a vote widely seen as rigged. These were the largest demonstrations in the history of Belarus, since the country became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In the ensuing crackdown, thousands of people were detained, many of whom were beaten by the police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were jailed.
After five years of mass demonstrations, Lukashenko wins seventh term In an election which the opposition called a farce.
However, recently, Belarus has begun to release some political prisoners to try to win the favor of the West. Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year Nobel Peace Prize Winner Ales Bialiatsky and prominent dissenters sirhei tsikhanousky, Victor Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova.
Trump spoke to Lukashenko by phone in August 2025 after one such release and even suggested a face-to-face meeting would be a major victory for the Belarusian leader, who has been dubbed “Europe’s last dictator.”
