Dec. 13 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Saturday ended U.S. sanctions on potash fertilizers from Belarus in exchange for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko releasing 123 political prisoners.
Lukashenko freed the prisoners, who include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and political opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, in an effort to improve the Russia-allied nation's relations with the United States, Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times reported.
"In accordance with President Trump's instructions, the United States is lifting sanctions on potash," U.S. Special Envoy John Coale told Belta, Belarus' official news agency.
"I believe this is a very good step by the United States for Belarus," Coale said. "We are lifting them now."
Related
