The US lifts air sanctions on Belarus (including Lukashenko). Minsk released 52 prisoners

The US Ministry of Finance on Tuesday officially removed the Belarusian airline Belavia (Belavia) and the plane used by Alexander Lukashenko's family from the list of entities subject to sanctions. This is the implementation of the previously announced agreement with Minsk regarding the release of some political prisoners by Belarus.

According to a statement published on the website of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Belavia (Belavia) and three companies related to it, as well as the Bombardier CRJ-200ER aircraft number EW-301PJ – a machine believed to belong to the family of the leader of Belarus – have been removed from the list of entities subject to sanctions. Additionally, OFAC issued a license enabling transactions related to the use of three other aircraft by Lukashenko himself and Slavkaliy, a company linked to the authorities.

The lifting of sanctions on Belarusian airlines was supposed to be part of the US-Lukashenko agreement announced in September. As a result of these findings, the regime in Minsk released 52 political prisoners, including three Poles.

Sanctions on the Belarusian carrier were imposed in mid-2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The lifting of restrictions was criticized by the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, claiming that this move could be beneficial for Russia because it would enable it to purchase spare parts through a Belarusian carrier.

Donald Trump's envoy John Coale, who concluded the agreement with Lukashenko in September, announced that Washington aims to release all political prisoners and normalize relations with Minsk within “months, not years.” He also assessed that Europe could lift the sanctions imposed on Belarus.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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