The American gathering with Lukashenko was held in Minsk. Following the talks, 3 Belarusian political prisoners were released: writer Andrej Kuznieczyk, activist Alena Mauszuk and an American citizen whose name was not disclosed. All the freed were handed over to the American side on the border with Lithuania.
Smith announced Thursday in Vilnius at a gathering with Western diplomats, that Belarus is willing to release many political prisoners. In return, Lukashenko expects to alleviate the sanctions imposed on Belarusian banks and on potassium exports, an crucial component of fertilizers, which Belarus is the main producer.
"New York Times" notes that the gathering with Lukashenko took place just a day after a telephone conversation by U.S. president Donald Trump with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
According to the centre of human rights, in Belarus presently there are 1,226 political prisoners. In fresh months, Lukashenko has released more than 200 people, including 2 Americans, after Trump took office. Belarusian opponents claim that even more people were arrested at the time.
Quoted by the “New York Times” Piotr Krawczyk, erstwhile head of the Polish Intelligence Agency, who, according to the journal, collaborated with Trump's administration during his first presidency of weakening Russian control Belarus, said Minsk is “part of a wider American approach to Russia”.
In his opinion, the US "resisting Russia in Ukraine, Africa, the oil and gas sector and in respective another strategical areas". “The negotiations with Belarus supply additional opportunities for the United States to signal Russia that it should be more attentive to American arguments”, Krawczyk added.
