Trump’s special envoy established contact with Lukashenko through jokes and vodka — NYT

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale, uses informal conversation, alcohol toasts and crude jokes to establish personal contact with Alexander Lukashenko. This approach has become part of Washington’s negotiations with Minsk on the release of political prisoners and the gradual easing of sanctions. This is reported in an article by The New York Times, reports UNN.

Details

According to the publication, Coale has built a personal relationship with Lukashenko, which he uses to advance agreements between the United States and Belarus. During one of their first lengthy meetings, the sides repeatedly raised toasts. Coale said that he drank two shots of vodka and tried to discreetly pour out the rest in order to remain sober during the negotiations.

The American diplomat also deliberately used crude humor. According to him, this style helped ease tensions and establish personal contact with the Belarusian leader. Coale previously described one such episode to the Associated Press. After Lukashenko spoke harshly about European politicians, the American representative responded with an even cruder phrase.

Coale himself said that he was prepared to use even "locker-room language" if it would help secure the release of people from Belarusian prisons. According to him, humor is one of the important tools of negotiations: if one can make the interlocutor laugh, it helps reduce the level of distrust.

The informal conversations between Coale and Lukashenko even touched on weight loss. The American, who lost about 18 kilograms, told the Belarusian leader about the drug Zepbound.

Context

Behind the unusual diplomatic style are very specific political agreements. In June 2025, after negotiations involving an American delegation, Belarus released 14 prisoners, including Sergei Tikhanovsky.

In September of the same year, Minsk released another 52 people. In response, the United States eased some sanctions against the state-owned airline Belavia.

In December, the Belarusian authorities released 123 prisoners, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, Maria Kalesnikava and Viktor Babariko. Washington subsequently eased restrictions on Belarus’s potash industry.

In March 2026, the largest simultaneous release took place: 250 people were freed. In response, the United States lifted some sanctions against Belarus’s financial sector and a number of potash industry enterprises.

Coale said that if Minsk released the remaining political prisoners, this could create grounds for the further lifting of U.S. sanctions.

According to estimates by the American side, as of August, more than 500 people had already been released from Belarusian prisons with U.S. assistance.

At the same time, human rights activists emphasize that the repression in the country has not stopped. According to the Viasna Human Rights Centre, at the beginning of August, about 880 political prisoners remained in Belarus, while the authorities continued to detain new people alongside the releases.

Representatives of the Belarusian opposition also warn that this model could turn into a kind of "revolving door," in which Minsk releases some political prisoners in exchange for concessions from the West while simultaneously replenishing their number with newly detained people.

U.S.-Belarus negotiations have already gone beyond the issue of prisoners. Coale discussed the possibility of restoring the full operation of the American embassy in Minsk, further normalizing relations and reaching economic agreements.

Washington is also considering Lukashenko as a possible informal channel of communication with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, given Minsk’s close relations with Moscow.

We remind you

In May 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday mentioned Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko, thanking him for his "cooperation and friendship," amid the release of five imprisoned citizens of Poland and Moldova from places of detention in Belarus and Russia.