Trump envoy meets Lukashenko in bid to negotiate more prisoner releases in Belarus

By Mark Trevelyan

March 19 (Reuters) – U.S. presidential envoy John Coale met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday on his latest mission to try to negotiate the release of political prisoners.

Coale has been tasked by U.S. President Donald Trump with trying to free what human rights groups say are more than 1,100 Belarusians currently behind bars because of political or human rights activity.

Lukashenko, greeting him with a hug, said he was ready to “discuss any issues and answer any questions”, but also wanted to talk about the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

“I think my perspective on global issues, especially the situation in the Middle East, will be important to you, since you are fighting against our friends. And I am ready to discuss this matter frankly,” he said in a video clip published by his administration.

Belarus has friendly ties with Iran, which was attacked by the United States and Israel on February 28 and has responded with strikes on Gulf states in a war that has spread across the Middle East.

Previous talks between Coale and Lukashenko resulted in the release of dozens of political prisoners last September and a further 123 in December, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and opposition politicians Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka.

In return, the U.S. removed sanctions on Belarusian potash – a key ingredient in fertilisers – and is discussing the possible reopening of its embassy in Minsk, which was closed in 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin used Belarus as a launchpad for his invasion of Ukraine.

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, was long treated as a pariah by the West because of his human rights record and backing for Russia in the conflict. But Trump’s diplomacy has offered him a path towards easing his isolation.

The U.S. side has made clear it sees value in cultivating him, given his close ties with Putin, and says he has offered good advice as the U.S. seeks to end the four-year war in Ukraine.

U.S. officials have told Reuters that Washington also hopes, by engaging with him, to peel him away to some degree from Putin.

The exiled Belarusian opposition says any such attempt is pointless because Lukashenko is heavily dependent on Putin’s political and economic support. But it has expressed gratitude to Trump and Coale over the prisoner releases.

Lukashenko said in December that Belarus was moving towards a “big deal” with the U.S. on restoring relations, which would involve a summit between him and Trump, but this would not be at the expense of his relationship with Russia.

(Reporting by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Alexandra Hudson)