Lukashenko trades prisoners for sanctions relief — and keeps the upper hand

As dust settles from a historic deal that saw Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko free 123 political prisoners in exchange for a partial U.S. sanctions relief, the main question remains unanswered — what now?

Trump’s newly appointed special envoy, John Coale, arrived in Minsk on Dec. 12 and secured the biggest prisoner release so far, with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figures Viktar Babaryka and Maria Kalesnikava walking free the following day.

The inclusion of Babaryka, Kalesnikava, Bialiatski, along with the editor-in-chief of the country’s biggest independent outlet tut.byMaryna Zolatava, veteran politician Pavel Seviarynets, and prominent political analyst Alexander Feduta, marks the most high-profile release yet.

Read more: https://kyivindependent.com/lukashenko-trades-prisoners-for-sanctions-relief-and-keeps-the-upper-hand/

Photo: Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP via Getty Images