The US is considering inviting Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenka to a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House or his Mar-a-Lago residence, seeking a diplomatic thaw with the authoritarian state, Trump's special envoy to Belarus, John Cole, confirmed in an interview with the Financial Times, UNN reports.
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According to Cole, internal discussions about inviting Lukashenka to meet with Trump have been ongoing "for several months," but he stressed that nothing has been definitively decided yet.
"We still have a lot of work to do to achieve the goal, but I think we will achieve it," Cole said.
Lukashenka said on Friday that Trump had invited him to Mar-a-Lago to discuss a "big deal."
Since Trump's return to the White House last year, the US has sought to resume cooperation with Lukashenka, a close ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, seeking the release of hundreds of Belarusian political prisoners in exchange for sanctions relief.
An invitation to meet with Trump in the US would be a boon for Lukashenka, who has faced harsh Western sanctions after a brutal crackdown on protesters in 2020, the publication notes.
He was further isolated after allowing Belarus to be used as a staging ground for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the publication writes.
Last week, Cole was in Belarus, where 250 political prisoners were released as part of the largest release to date. In exchange, the US agreed to lift further sanctions on the Belarusian financial sector, including the Ministry of Finance and the Belarusian Development Bank, as well as three potash companies: Belaruskali, Belarusian Potash Company, and Agrorozkvit.
The American official stated that as a result of US cooperation, about 500 political prisoners have been released, including prominent opposition leaders Siarhei Tsikhanouski, Maria Kalesnikava, and Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski. Six US citizens and dozens of foreign citizens have also been released.
"Sanctions relief is contingent on sustained improvement in behavior and President Lukashenka fulfilling his promise to immediately cease all politically motivated arrests," the official said.
Cole declined to say what, if any, preconditions might be set for a meeting between Trump and Lukashenka. "Ultimately, it's up to the president," he said.
The envoy expressed hope that they would be able to secure the release of the remaining political prisoners by the end of the year. According to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, almost 900 political prisoners remain behind bars.
American officials have tried to portray their recent rapprochement efforts as largely a humanitarian gesture.
"It's 95 percent a humanitarian gesture. I'm not going to drive a wedge between him and Putin. It's a 30-year relationship," said Cole, who has traveled to Belarus several times over the past year and met with Lukashenka.
"I know who Lukashenka is," he said. "But we have a very good relationship. We trust each other," Cole said. "This is Trump, this is Trump-style foreign policy, where you get to know the person better."
Lukashenka's dependence on Putin is deep, and the US is unlikely to pull Belarus out of Russia's orbit, experts say.
"At this stage, it's impossible," said Artem Shraibman, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
But by opening lines of communication and persuading Belarus to release its political prisoners, the Trump administration is potentially laying the necessary groundwork for improved relations in the future, Shraibman said.
"The US is now effectively helping future dialogue between Belarus and the West to clear the agenda of at least some problems," Shraibman said.
US lifts sanctions on Belarusian potash - media19.03.26, 18:53