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US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) claimed that more than 500 political prisoners have been released in Belarus since last year, crediting efforts by his envoy and the Belarusian leadership.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his envoy, John Coale, secured the release of an additional 250 detainees following talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. "Last week, my Envoy to Belarus, John Coale, after negotiating with Highly Respected President Alexander Lukashenko, got 250 more Political Prisoners freed! This brings the total Prisoners gracefully released by President Lukashenko to well over 500, since last May," Trump said. He expressed gratitude to Lukashenko for the move, adding, "I would like to give my warmest THANK YOU to the President for doing this, and I look forward to being with him at the next Board of Peace meeting1" Earlier in August 2025, United States President Donald Trump said he had a "wonderful" conversation with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. He also mentioned discussing Putin's visit to Alaska during the call at that time. President Trump at that time said that he had telephoned Lukashenko to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "I had a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko. The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners. We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners. Our conversation was a very good one." CNN at that time reported that Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, is already under heavy US sanctions. CNN also reported that Lukashenko is sometimes referred to as "Europe's last dictator." The Board of Peace, launched by Trump in Davos in January, was initially designed to oversee Gaza's post-war transition under a broader peace framework. However, its expanded mandate to promote "global peace" and elements of its charter, including provisions allowing Trump to serve indefinitely as chairman, raised legal and political concerns in several EU capitals. (ANI)
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