John Cole Arrived In Minsk For Talks With Lukashenko

• 15.09.2026, 12:19

Prime Minister Alexander Turchin is also participating in the meeting with Trump's special envoy.

The U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole arrived in Minsk on September 15 for talks with Alexander Lukashenko, according to the Telegram channel “Pool of the First.”

On September 15, Alexander Lukashenko is meeting with representatives of Donald Trump’s team. The delegation is led by U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Cole. The talks will take place at the Palace of Independence.

Prime Minister Alexander Turchin will take part in the talks.

The day before, on September 14, John Cole arrived in Vilnius, where he met with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys. They discussed efforts to secure the release of political prisoners in Belarus and the security situation in the region.

Trump’s special envoy had previously stated that he was counting on new releases of Belarusian political prisoners around mid-September. He noted that the U.S. had already secured the release of 500 prisoners, followed by another 200 or so under “pardon” decrees signed by Lukashenko.

Following John Cole’s visit to Minsk on March 19, 2026, 250 political prisoners were released. In total, the U.S. has helped secure the release of more than 500 Belarusian prisoners. John Cole himself believes that this figure is much higher, since another 200 or so people were released under “pardon” decrees signed by Alexander Lukashenko.

“So the actual figure is approximately 700–800 people. I hope to bring it up to a thousand soon,” Cole noted in a comment to Voice of America.