Cole: US Will Keep Part Of Sanctions Against Lukashenko's Regime

• 20.03.2026, 20:31

Trump's special envoy reveals details of Minsk talks.

Special Envoy of the US President John Cole in an interview with Deutsche Welle disclosed the details of the talks in Minsk with Lukashenko. He noted that the U.S. is ready to lift most sanctions on Belarus in exchange for the release of all political prisoners.

John Cole said that negotiations with Belarus with Minsk in recent months have been tense over the issue of allowing released political prisoners to remain in the country.

Cole also raised the issue that despite the release of some political prisoners, new ones are appearing in Belarus:

"We release 10 people and they arrest 10 more. I hope we managed to convey to him that this is unacceptable."

Cole expressed hope for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus by the end of the year. In exchange, the US is ready to lift 80% of the sanctions imposed on Minsk after the crackdown on the 2020 protests. The remaining 20% of sanctions related to other issues will remain.

"There is an agreement between the US and Belarus on this. It has not been officially recorded yet. We are still working on it, but this is what we are moving towards," he said.