Belarus released 123 prisoners on Saturday, including leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, following an agreement with the United States to ease sanctions on the country, according to officials and rights groups.
The releases followed talks in Minsk between Belarusian authorities and John Coale, the special envoy appointed by US President Donald Trump to oversee negotiations with Belarus. As part of the deal, Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash exports, a critical component of global fertilizer supplies and one of the country’s main sources of revenue.
US officials confirmed that restrictions on potash trade would be lifted immediately. Coale said the move was part of a broader effort to reset relations with Minsk.
“As relations between the two countries normalize, more and more sanctions will be lifted,” Coale was quoted as saying by Belarusian state media.
Belarus has faced sweeping Western sanctions since a disputed presidential election in 2020 and further penalties after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when Russian forces used Belarusian territory to launch attacks.
The European Union and the United States do not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as Belarus’s legitimate president following the 2020 vote, which triggered mass protests that were later crushed by security forces.
Among those released was Maria Kolesnikova, a key figure in the 2020 opposition movement who had been imprisoned for more than four years, much of it spent in isolation. Speaking after her release, she described the moment as overwhelming.
“It is a feeling of unbelievable happiness to see and hug people dear to me,” Kolesnikova said. “It is a huge happiness to see the first sunset of my freedom, such amazing beauty.”
She added that many others remain behind bars. “We think of those who are not yet free. I wait for the moment when we can all hug each other, when all are free.”
Kolesnikova and 113 other prisoners were transferred to Ukraine, according to Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Ukrainian officials said the group would receive medical assistance before being moved onward to Poland and Lithuania.
A smaller group, including human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, was transported directly to Vilnius, Lithuania. Bialiatski, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work documenting abuses in Belarus, spoke briefly after reuniting with exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya outside the US embassy.
“Thousands of people have been and continue to be imprisoned,” Bialiatski said. “Our struggle continues.”
Tikhanovskaya said the decision to route most of the released prisoners through Ukraine had been unexpected and was made by Lukashenko himself. She described sanctions as an effective pressure tool, despite the risks.
“Sanctions are leverage to make dictators do something,” she told reporters. “Lukashenko will not release people because he suddenly became humane. He wants to sell people as expensively as possible.”
The agreement marks a significant diplomatic opening for Lukashenko, who has been largely isolated by Western governments for years. Analysts say the deal also signals a notable shift in US policy, which now diverges from the European Union’s approach of maintaining pressure through isolation.
Belarusian state media quoted Coale as saying he also discussed Ukraine with Lukashenko and explored whether Minsk could play any role in future talks involving Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Western sanctions were tightened sharply in 2022 after Russian troops entered Ukraine via Belarus and missiles were launched from Belarusian territory. The easing of potash sanctions suggests Washington sees room for limited engagement tied to concrete concessions.
Africa Digital News, New York
