Overview
- President Donald Trump announced on Nov. 9 that John Coale, who participated in recent talks in Minsk, is his pick to serve as special envoy to Belarus.
- Trump said Coale has negotiated the release of 100 "hostages" and is seeking about 50 additional releases.
- Belarus freed 52 prisoners in September after an appeal from Trump, marking the largest single batch of pardons by President Alexander Lukashenko.
- Following the September releases, Washington lifted sanctions on Belavia, Belarus's state airline, which had been under U.S. restrictions since August 2023.
- The appointment comes as Washington increases delegations to Minsk even as the U.S. embassy remains closed since 2022 over Belarus’s role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.