Trump envoy, seeking release of Belarusian prisoners, says Lukashenko may visit US soon
MINSK: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko may soon visit the United States, a US envoy said on Thursday, a trip that would mark a breakthrough for the veteran authoritarian leader as he seeks to end years of isolation from the West.
US envoy John Coale was speaking after meeting Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on his latest visit to Minsk to try to negotiate the release of Belarusian political prisoners.
Belarusian state media quoted Coale as saying the two sides were working to organize a Lukashenko visit. He said they had also discussed the possible reopening of the US embassy in Minsk, which Washington closed after Belarus allowed Russia to invade Ukraine from its territory in February 2022.
In return for normalizing ties, the US is pushing Lukashenko to free what human rights groups say are more than 1,100 Belarusians currently behind bars because of political or human rights activity.
