The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, descends the stairs of the plane upon his arrival in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 13, 2016. PHOTO: Islam Yakut / AFP / Profimedia
The US Treasury Department eased some sanctions against Belarus on Tuesday, lifting measures against the national airline and allowing transactions related to leader Aleksandr Lukashenko's presidential plane, Reuters reports.
The move is the latest in a series of moves to thaw relations between the United States and Belarus after years of US efforts to isolate Minsk, which have included imposing sanctions even on President Lukashenko.
In September, Belarus released 52 prisoners following an appeal by US President Donald Trump. The country has been promised relaxation of sanctions on Belarus' national airline, Belavia, which will allow it to maintain and buy parts for its planes.
Sanctions on the Belavia company, lifted
The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Tuesday formally lifted sanctions on Belavia and a plane it operated, which the department previously said was used by senior officials and members of Lukashenko's family.
It also issued a blanket license allowing certain transactions involving the use of three previously sanctioned aircraft by Lukashenko or Slavkali, a company with ties to his authoritarian government.
The aircraft covered by the license are a Boeing 737 owned by the government of Belarus, which was used as the presidential plane, and another plane that was part of the presidential fleet, according to previous Treasury statements.
The third is a luxury helicopter owned by Slavkali, which had been used to transport Lukashenko between his suburban residence and Minsk, according to an earlier Treasury statement.
A series of US sanctions on Minsk over Belarus' 2020 presidential election, which Washington has described as fraudulent, Belarus' support for Russia and other issues, remain in place, including on Lukashenko and his family.
Trump resumes relations with Minsk
Since returning to power this year, Trump has stepped up US relations with Belarus, sending several delegations to Minsk.
Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, had imposed sanctions on Lukashenko for his country's crackdown on opposition and sought to further isolate the eastern European nation after it served as a staging ground for Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has tried to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev, but admitted that trying to end the more than three-year war has proved more difficult than he had anticipated. Last month, he imposed sanctions on the largest Russian oil companies – Lukoil and Rosneft.
Reuters reported last month that following a partial thaw in relations with Washington, a senior Belarusian diplomat held meetings with Europeans in what the bloc's diplomats called an opening aimed at reducing Minsk's isolation.
