November 20, Pozirk. Minsk is preparing for a meeting with a United States delegation in December, Alaksandar Łukašenka has told Dźmitryj Krutoj, head of his administration.
He also announced a “major trip to the southern hemisphere starting with Myanmar, Oman and Algeria.”
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump nominated John Coale as special envoy to Belarus. Previously, Coale served as deputy to Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, and negotiated the release of jailed Belarusian dissidents with 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.
The US diplomat reportedly reached an agreement with Minsk on the next round of Belarusian prisoner releases but the deal has not yet materialized.
Łukašenka have been negotiating a “grand bargain” with Washington, indicating that he had specific conditions in mind.
“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.
