Trump envoy meets Lukashenko in bid to negotiate more prisoner releases

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's administration published a photograph of Thursday's meeting on its Telegram channel.



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.