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Trump nominates special envoy for Belarus
November 9, Pozirk. United States President Donald Trump has nominated John Coale as special envoy to Belarus, according to his post on Truth Social.
Previously, Coale served as deputy to Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, and negotiated the releases of jailed Belarusian dissidents with Alaksandar Łukašenka.
The most recent pardon on September 11, following Coale’s meeting with the Belarusian ruler, included 52 people, among them prominent opposition figures and journalists. Coale is now involved in talks on the release of 50 Belarusian regime critics, whom Trump described as hostages in his post.
A few weeks ago, Marcin Bosacki of the Polish foreign ministry said that the US diplomat had reached an agreement with Minsk on the next round of Belarusian prisoner releases but the deal has not yet materialized.
Meanwhile, Łukašenka came up with an idea of a “grand bargain” with Washington, indicating that he had specific conditions.
“I tell the Americans: you have to understand me. . . I said that Trump acts the same way,” Łukašenka said. “That’s the essence of this ‘grand bargain’: we do what they want, and they do what we want. We’re ready for that — but we have our own interests.”
Belarusian officials say that Minsk has been engaged in talks with Washington since mid-2024. Since then, the Belarusian ruler has pardoned more than 300 imprisoned regime critics.
US diplomat Coale on Bialacki’s release: “I’m on it”
September 28, Pozirk. John Coale, President Donald Trump’s deputy special envoy to Ukraine, has indirectly confirmed on X that he may be involved in talks on securing the release of jailed Belarusian rights champion Aleś Bialacki. The diplomat has shared …
