Belarus leader hosts US envoy for talks, latest step in his effort to improve ties with Washington

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday hosted a U.S. envoy for talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk, the latest step in the isolated leader’s effort to improve ties with the West.

Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, according to the presidential press service. State news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko saying topics on the agenda include restoring the normal functioning of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk, which suspended operations in 2022, the "release of so-called political prisoners,” as well as sanctions and other economic issues.

The last time U.S. officials met with Lukashenko, in December, Washington announced easing some sanctions, and 123 prisoners were released and sent to Ukraine and Lithuania.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced isolation for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries — both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Lukashenko’s rule was challenged after a 2020 presidential election, when tens of thousands poured into the streets to protest a vote they viewed as rigged. They were the largest demonstrations since Belarus became independent following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

In an ensuing crackdown, tens of thousands were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned.

Five years after the mass demonstrations, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in an election that the opposition called a farce.

More recently, Belarus has begun to free some political prisoners to try to win favor with the West. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key dissident figures Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Viktar 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 in what would be a big victory for the Belarusian leader, who has been dubbed “Europe’s Last Dictator.”

Coale told reporters after the talks on Thursday that a possible trip for Lukashenko to the U.S. was discussed.

Belarusian opposition leader in exile Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press in written comments Thursday that U.S. envoy Coale's “mission is to help secure the release of political prisoners.”

“These are innocent people, held illegally by the regime. This is not an easy task," she said, adding that Lukahsenko “does not keep his word — he releases some prisoners while arresting new ones.”

"But I believe the United States has enough leverage to make a real difference and free them all,” Tsikhanouskaya said.

There are currently more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarus, according to the country's most prominent human rights group, Viasna.

“Of course, we welcome these efforts. We see them as humanitarian and very important,” Tsikhanouskaya said. “But at the same time, we must insist on real, systemic change in Belarus — an end to repression and the holding of free and fair elections."