Three senior U.S. officials traveled to Belarus to negotiate the possible release of a large number of political prisoners in return for an easing of sanctions, The New York Times reported, following the release of three detainees earlier in the week.
The Times on February 15 reported that U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe Christopher Smith and two other officials met in Minsk with long-time authoritarian ruler Aleksandr Lukashenko and KGB chief Ivan Tertel to discuss terms of a deal.
The exact timing of the visit and meetings -- Lukashenko's first with senior State Department officials in five years -- was not immediately clear.
SEE ALSO: Could Belarus's Presidential Election Be Lukashenko's Last?The report comes after Smith and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 13 said that Washington had secured the release of an unidentified U.S. citizen and two political prisoners from Belarus.
"They were handed over to us, and we brought them back out through Lithuania," Smith told CNN at the time. Another U.S. official told CNN that a fourth person had been released in January as part of the same deal.
The Times report said Smith told diplomats in Vilnius that the releases could be an initial step toward a large-scale deal between Washington and Minsk in return for an easing of sanctions, many of which relate to Belarus's support for Russia's war in Ukraine and for a crackdown on dissent in the country.
Some observers said that, along with the direct benefit of securing the release of prisoners, Washington is also attempting to bring about a decrease in Moscow's influence on Minsk.
Franak Viacorka, chief of staff to exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was quoted by the Times as saying: “We are very grateful to President [Donald] Trump that he managed to move things forward.”
He added, though, that sanctions should be eased only when “Lukashenko stops repression and new arrests” and “releases all political prisoners, including top figures.”
Many of those detained were arrested amid the crackdown on protests over the 2020 presidential election that saw Lukashenko emerge with his sixth consecutive term. The opposition and Western governments said the vote was rigged.
Lukashenko, as expected, won a seventh term in the 2025 election on January 26, again amid complaints by the West and by exiled opponents of rigging and repression of potential rivals.
Lukashenko ordered a wave of pardons ahead of the election, freeing dozens of people, including many jailed on extremism charges his opponents and rights groups say were politically motivated.
SEE ALSO: European Politicians Urge Belarusians Not To Lose Faith In Democracy On Eve Of 'Sham' ElectionSome observers said the authoritarian leader could have been seeking to signal the West that he is easing off on the persistent clampdown that the state has imposed since the 2020 election.
But the crackdown has shown little sign of abating, with frequent arrests and trials on what activists say are politically motivated charges. At least 1,253 people whom rights groups consider political prisoners remain behind bars, and the real number is believed to be higher.
Lukashenko has tied Belarus closely to Russia and has provided support for the Kremlin's war on Ukraine, including by allowing Russian forces to invade from Belarusian territory, and he says Russian nuclear weapons have been deployed in Belarus, leading to a vast series of financial sanctions against Minsk.
Still, during his 30 years in power, Lukashenko has occasionally attempted to capitalize on Belarus’s position between Russia in the east and NATO and the European Union to the west and north.