Лукашенко и США: новый раунд переговоров об освобождении 100 политзаключенных amid геополитической напряженности

Президент Беларуси Александр Лукашенко intensifies his efforts to strengthen ties with the administration of Donald Trump, planning to release at least 100 political prisoners in the process. Reuters reports that three sources familiar with the situation confirmed negotiations between Minsk and Washington regarding this matter. However, Lithuania warned that these efforts could fail if Belarusian authorities do not halt their hybrid warfare against neighboring countries.

This year, Лукашенко has released several dozen prisoners in multiple phases, including notable opposition figures like Sergey Tikhanovsky and foreign nationals. Yet, U.S. officials are seeking to secure the release of over 100 individuals in a single agreement, a topic that has reportedly been discussed in recent days. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump expressed his intention to facilitate the release of 50 individuals.

Human rights organizations indicate that more than 1,000 political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, including former presidential candidates and Nobel Prize laureates. It remains unclear who will be released and when this may occur.

Trump has appointed his former attorney, John Cole, as a special envoy to Belarus, who previously helped negotiate the September release of 52 political prisoners. Some American officials suggest that the current contacts between Trump’s administration and Belarus form part of a broader, long-term strategy aimed at diminishing Belarus’s ties with Russia and pulling it out of Moscow’s geopolitical influence, even if such efforts yield only minor results, as noted by Reuters.

However, a recent uptick in smuggling activities from Belarus to Lithuania using weather balloons may undermine Minsk’s ability to reach an agreement with the U.S., warned Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys. He characterized these activities, observed over the past two months, as a hybrid attack against a NATO and EU member.

“I can confirm that this has a direct and significant impact on the negotiations with the U.S.,” Budrys stated in an interview with LRT on Wednesday. “The fact that the Belarusian regime is conducting hybrid attacks against a NATO ally is of considerable importance.”

In October, Lithuania closed border checkpoints with Belarus in response to reports of balloon-launched smuggling. Last week, it reopened the border, similar to Poland, which had also restricted access in reaction to Belarus’s attempts to smuggle migrants from third countries into the EU. Although violations ceased during the border closures, they resumed once borders were opened again, prompting Lithuanian authorities to temporarily suspend operations at Vilnius Airport.