Overview
- The pardons included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Viktar Babaryka.
- U.S. special envoy John Coale, citing President Trump’s instructions, said Washington is lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash after two days of talks in Minsk.
- Ukraine said it received 114 of the freed people and Lithuania received nine, with advisers to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya saying the group left Belarus.
- Rights monitors report roughly 1,100–1,200 political prisoners remain in Belarus despite successive releases since 2024.
- U.S. officials portray the engagement as a step to normalize ties and gain leverage over Minsk, including on issues tied to the Russia–Ukraine war.