MINSK, BELARUS—In a dramatic breakthrough following weeks of intense diplomatic maneuvering, the authoritarian government of Belarus on Saturday released 123 prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and prominent opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava. The mass amnesty came directly in exchange for the United States lifting sanctions on the crucial Belarusian potash fertilizer sector, a move signaling a significant thaw in relations between Washington and the isolated, Russia-allied regime.
The prisoner release is the largest single humanitarian exchange since President Donald Trump’s administration opened a dialogue with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko earlier this year. The deal instantly restores a vital economic artery for Belarus, which is a major global producer of potash.
The Price of Freedom: Sanctions Relief
The agreement was sealed during two days of high-level talks in Minsk between President Lukashenko and U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus, John Coale.
- The Exchange: President Lukashenko pardoned a total of 123 prisoners, many of whom were jailed following the crushing of pro-democracy protests in 2020. In return, the U.S. announced the immediate lifting of sanctions on Belarusian potash, a key fertilizer component and one of Belarus’s most important exports.
- U.S. Rationale: “Per the instructions of President Trump, we, the United States, will be lifting sanctions on potash,” Coale told the state news agency Belta. He described the move as a “very good step by the U.S. for Belarus,” aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.
- Economic Boost: Sanctions imposed in 2021 had severely crippled the state-owned potash producer, Belaruskali, forcing Belarus to redirect its shipments via Russia and further tying Minsk to the Kremlin economically. The lifting of U.S. sanctions reopens major commercial pathways for the commodity.
The Most Prominent of the Released
The group of released prisoners included several of the world’s most recognizable political prisoners, their freedom hailed by human rights organizations worldwide:
- Ales Bialiatski: The founder of the Viasna Human Rights Centre, Bialiatski was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize while serving a 10-year sentence on charges widely viewed as politically motivated.
- Maria Kalesnikava: A central figure in the 2020 pro-democracy protests, Kalesnikava was jailed for 11 years after famously tearing up her passport to resist deportation.
- Viktar Babaryka: A former banker who tried to challenge Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election before being arrested and jailed.
Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed that the released group also included five Ukrainian nationals, along with citizens from the U.S., Poland, and other allied nations.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked the U.S. administration for its humanitarian efforts but cautioned against reading too much into the regime’s motivation. “Lukashenko will not release people because he somehow became humane. He wants to sell people as expensively as possible,” she stated, urging that European Union sanctions—which are considered more consequential—should remain to push for long-term democratic change.
The exchange is being viewed as a significant success for diplomacy, achieving the release of some of the most prominent victims of the crackdown, even as Western governments debate the wisdom of providing economic relief to the long-isolated autocrat.