Lukashenko urges US to lift Belarus sanctions after prisoner release deals

Tallinn,UPDATED: Sep 15, 2026 18:54 IST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met US special envoy for Belarus John Coale on Tuesday and pressed for the lifting of the remaining US sanctions on his country. The meeting came after a series of US-mediated deals under which Lukashenko released hundreds of political prisoners and Washington eased some sanctions.

At the meeting, Lukashenko said Belarus and the US had already made progress and signalled that he was ready for further talks. He said, "we have reached quite a few agreements related to our economic ties," and urged Washington to help unblock some Belarusian assets that he said were "stuck in Citibank."

Before meeting Coale, Lukashenko said he was open to discussing "a deal big or small". He also said he wanted to discuss the possibility of lifting more US sanctions and exporting Belarusian fertilisers to the US. As part of a deal brokered by Washington in March, Lukashenko ordered the release of 250 political prisoners. In return, the US lifted sanctions on two Belarusian state banks and the country’s Finance Ministry, and removed the top Belarusian potash producers from a sanctions list. Another deal in April led to the release of prominent journalist Andrzej Poczobut in a swap with Poland that saw 10 people freed in total.

Lukashenko has ruled the country of 9.5 million for more than three decades and has faced repeated Western sanctions over the crackdown on human rights and for allowing Russia to use Belarusian territory in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His rule came under pressure after the 2020 presidential election, when hundreds of thousands protested against what they saw as a rigged vote. The crackdown that followed led to tens of thousands being detained, with many beaten by police. Opposition leaders either fled the country or were jailed. Five years after those protests, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in an election that the opposition called a farce.

The Belarusian opposition has welcomed Coale’s efforts as an important humanitarian mission, but has also said Lukashenko’s government continues to jail more political prisoners. According to the Viasna human rights centre, Belarus still has 912 political prisoners, including 20 journalists. Pavel Sapelka, a lawyer with Viasna, told The Associated Press: "Harsh political repressions continue in the country, and the regime employs a revolving door policy, with new political prisoners constantly put behind bars. Lukashenko treats political prisoners like commodities to be traded for the lifting of sanctions, yet the repressive nature of the regime remains unchanged."

Speaking at the meeting with Coale, Lukashenko denied that Belarus has any political prisoners. "There is no need for us to persecute anyone for political reasons today," he said. "The fugitives are spreading a narrative in the West ... that while we are releasing some people, we are continuing repressions and detaining twice as many in their place. That is absolutely untrue!" Observers say the contacts with the US have given Lukashenko a chance to ease his international isolation. Political analyst Valery Karbalevich told AP: "Lukashenko is a very experienced politician, and contacts with the US will allow him not only to reduce his total dependence on the Kremlin, but also to return to the international stage and seek an easing of the European Union sanctions, which are hitting the Belarusian economy much harder."

Also on Tuesday, a UN group of experts said in a report that Belarusian authorities were using the criminal justice system as an instrument of repression and were systematically targeting government opponents. "The international community must not look away," expert Susan Bazilli said. "Those responsible for serious human rights violations must know that impunity is not a permanent shield, and victims must know that their rights have not been forgotten." The meeting between Lukashenko and the US envoy thus unfolded against the backdrop of fresh calls over Belarus’ human rights record, while both sides discussed sanctions, economic ties and prisoner releases.

With PTI Inputs

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