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U.S. Envoy Meets Lukashenko in Minsk as State Media Say Potash Sanctions Lifted

Negotiations focus on freeing detainees in exchange for steps that could ease Belarus’s isolation.

U.S. President Donald Trump's representative John Coale speaks with Reuters, on the day prisoners released from Belarus arrive to Vilnius, Lithuania, September 11, 2025. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel
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Overview

  • U.S. special envoy John Coale, appointed by President Donald Trump to seek political‑prisoner releases, held talks with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday, state outlets reported.
  • A Lukashenko‑linked Telegram video showed the president greeting Coale and saying to tell Trump "we must do something about this," signaling openness to a deal.
  • Belarus state news agency BelTA quoted Coale on Saturday as saying the United States is lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash, without specifying any reciprocal actions by Minsk.
  • Belarus’s presidential press service said discussions would continue Saturday, following September talks that saw 52 people released and U.S. sanctions on Belavia lifted.
  • Rights groups say more than 430 prisoners have been freed since mid‑2024 but about 1,200 political prisoners remain, and Trump has urged releases of up to 1,400 people he calls hostages.