Belarus has freed 123 prisoners, including prominent opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova, after the US agreed to lift sanctions on the Eastern European country.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski is also among those who have been freed following talks in Minsk with US President Donald Trump's special envoy for Belarus, John Coale.
The US has agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key ingredient in fertiliser and an important export for Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia.
Coale said: "As relations between the two countries normalise, more and more sanctions will be lifted."
Belarus' president, Alexander Lukashenko, is not recognised as president by the EU.
