A US special envoy says he hopes additional Belarusian political prisoners will be released within a month, a move that could prompt eased US sanctions, Reuters reports.
John Cole, the U.S. special envoy, expressed hope for the release of several more Belarusian political prisoners within the next month, after which further sanctions relief for Minsk could be possible.
The statement came after a prisoner exchange at the border with Poland, during which Polish-Belarusian journalist and activist Andrzej Pochobut was released.
“I hope that we will be able to secure the release of some detainees within the next month. And I will return to help with this next month,” John Cole said.
The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has released hundreds of detainees over the past two years; the process accelerated after Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Cole’s direct talks with him. Meanwhile, the United States continues to ease the sanctions regime against Belarus.
Cole noted that American sanctions were not the topic of the negotiations that led to the release of Pochobut and four other individuals, but he hinted that further releases could ease the sanctions.
“We are still in negotiations. It is always possible,” John Cole stated.
In his conclusions, Cole noted that Lukashenko aims to make Belarus part of a “family of European nations,” and believes that the release of political prisoners could help this direction of development.
Cole had previously said that Lukashenko could soon visit the United States, which could be a breakthrough after many years of isolation due to human rights abuses and support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“We are discussing this. I think it would be a good step. I also mentioned opening the U.S. embassy in Minsk. All these issues are on the table… and I am optimistic that they can be realized,” John Cole said.
According to the Belarusian regime, during the exchange three people were released and handed over to Poland: journalist Andrzej Pochobut, Catholic priest Grzegorz Gavela, and a Belarusian who cooperated with Polish security services.
It is also reported that as part of the exchange, the Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin returned to Russia, after being detained in Warsaw at Ukraine’s extradition request.
