Belarus releases Nobel prize laureate in exchange for US sanctions relief

Belarusian authorities have released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova from prison, Pavel Sapelka, human rights advocate with the Viasna rights group. Their release comes as authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko seeks to improve relations with Washington. The US earlier on Saturday announced lifting sanctions on the country’s potash sector. In exchange for sanctions relief, Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners, the Belta State news agency reported.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.

Earlier Saturday, the United States said it was lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash in the latest sign of a thaw between Washington and the isolated autocracy. John Coale, the US special envoy for Belarus, made the announcement after meeting Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday and Saturday. Speaking with journalists, Coale described the two-day talks as “very productive,” Belarus’ state news agency Belta reported Saturday. The US envoy said that normalising relations between Washington and Minsk was “our goal.”

 “We’re lifting sanctions, releasing prisoners. We’re constantly talking to each other,” he said, according to Belta. He also said that the relationship between the countries was moving from “baby steps to more confident steps” as they increased dialogue. The last time US officials met with Lukashenko in September 2025, Washington announced easing some of the sanctions against Belarus while Minsk released more than 50 political prisoners into Lithuania.

Overall, Belarus released more than 430 political prisoners since July 2024, in what was widely seen as an effort at a rapprochement with the West. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya — Bialiatski’s wife — told The Associated Press on Saturday that sanctions relief was part of a deal between Minsk and Washington, in which another large group of political prisoners in Belarus were expected to be released.

“The freeing of political prisoners means that Lukashenko understands the pain of Western sanctions and is seeking to ease them,” Tsikhanouskaya said. She added: “But let’s not be naive: Lukashenko hasn’t changed his policies, his crackdown continues, and he keeps on supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.