Belarus leader hosts US ambassador for talks, latest effort to improve ties

Tallinn, Estonia — TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Autocratic President Alexander Lukashenko hosted the U.S. ambassador in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Thursday for talks, the latest step in the reclusive leader’s efforts to improve ties with the West.

According to the presidential press service, Lukashenko met with President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, John Cole. State news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying that topics on the agenda include restoring the normal functioning of the US embassy in Minsk, which has suspended operations in 2022, the “release of so-called political prisoners” and sanctions and other economic issues.

The last time US officials met with Lukashenko, in December, Washington announced the easing of 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 repeatedly sanctioned by the West — for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

After the 2020 presidential election, Lukashenko’s rule was called into question, with tens of thousands taking to the streets to protest a vote they considered rigged. They were the largest demonstrations since Belarus became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In the ensuing crackdown, dozens of people were arrested, many beaten by the police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were in jail.

After five years of mass demonstrations, Lukashenko won a seventh term last year in elections that the opposition called a farce.

More recently, Belarus has begun freeing some political prisoners to try to win over the West. Since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year, Lukashenko has released dozens of prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatsky and prominent dissidents Siarhei Sikhanovsky, Viktor Babaryka and Maria Kolesnikova.

After one such release, Trump spoke to Lukashenko by phone in August 2025 and even suggested a face-to-face meeting, which would be a major victory for the Belarusian leader known as “Europe’s last dictator.”

A possible trip to the US for Lukashenko was discussed, Cole told reporters after talks on Thursday.

Sviatlana Sikhanouskaia, a Belarusian opposition leader in exile, told The Associated Press in written comments Thursday that U.S. Ambassador Cole’s “assistance in the release of political prisoners.”

“These are innocent people, held illegally by the regime. This is not an easy task,” he said.

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

There are currently more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarus, according to Vyasna, the country’s leading human rights group.

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