Trump appointed a special envoy for Belarus. “He has already negotiated the release of 100 prisoners, he is preparing to release 50 more”
John Coale, Donald Trump's special envoy, received in Minsk by Aleksandr Lukashenko. Photo credit: Belarusian Presidential Press Service / AP / Profimedia
American President Donald Trump has announced that he has appointed John Coale as the special envoy of the United States for Belarus, with the aim of securing the release of other political prisoners held by the regime of dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko.
“He has already successfully negotiated the release of 100 prisoners and is preparing to release 50 more,” Donald Trump wrote on Sunday on his Truth Social account.
Coale is Trump's former personal attorney
The announcement follows US efforts in September to free dozens of political prisoners, including opposition figures, journalists, protesters and foreign nationals.
John Coale, who currently holds the position of deputy special envoy to Ukraine and is Trump's former personal lawyer, contributed to the negotiation of the prisoners' release during his September visit to Minsk, reports News.ro.
Following these releases, Washington lifted sanctions on Belarus' state airline Belavia, which had been under restrictions since August 2023.
For its part, Minsk has stepped up its efforts to break out of the diplomatic isolation imposed by Western countries for its role in and support for the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Minsk has faced severe political and economic sanctions from the West for its support of Moscow, as well as massive electoral fraud that allowed Lukashenko to hang on to power in the widely contested 2020 presidential election.
Trump's envoy, Keith Kellogg, revealed in late September that the goal of resuming dialogue with Belarus is to “secure channels of communication” with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a broader effort to end the war in Ukraine. Lukashenko also expressed his readiness to strengthen relations, if this would bring benefits to Minsk.
“I would like to thank in advance the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, for his consideration of the release of these additional individuals,” Trump concluded in his post.
Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, is considered by many to be a close ally of Putin. In September, Belarus and Russia held large-scale joint military exercises called Zapad-2025. The Kremlin said around 100,000 troops took part – a show of force that heightened tensions along NATO's eastern flank.
