US Envoy Expresses Hope for Major Prisoner Release in Belarus
US special envoy John Coale said he hopes to secure the release of hundreds of additional prisoners from Belarus next month and plans to travel there in person to finalize the arrangement.
Coale, who says his diplomatic efforts have already persuaded Belarus to free up to 800 political prisoners in exchange for eased US sanctions on Minsk, shared his comments with Voice of America’s Russian language service, which published the interview over the weekend. “In a couple of weeks’ time, I’m planning to go to Belarus again, and I hope to secure the release of even more political prisoners. I think I’ll succeed,” Coale told VoA, adding that he is targeting a handover around mid-September.
“We managed to secure the release of five hundred people, and then a further two hundred or so were released. So the actual figure is around 700–800 people. I hope to bring that number up to a thousand soon,” Coale said.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives outside the country, told Reuters in June that the Trump administration had informed her of a delay in efforts to persuade President Alexander Lukashenko to release additional political prisoners, though she said she could not disclose the reason behind it.
Coale, 79, was appointed by President Trump last year to lead negotiations with Lukashenko. He has built a working relationship with the former collective farm boss through extended talks and vodka-drinking sessions, during which he has reportedly discreetly emptied his glass to remain sober.
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