The United States is considering inviting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who is not recognized by a number of countries, to meet with Donald Trump at the White House or at his Mar-a-Lago residence, seeking a diplomatic thaw in relations with Belarus.
The Financial Times writes about this.
Trump's special envoy to Belarus, John Cole, confirmed in an interview with the Financial Times that internal negotiations to invite the Belarusian leader to meet with Trump have been ongoing “for several months,” but stressed that nothing has been finalized yet.
“We still have a lot of work to do to reach our goal, but I think we will achieve it,” Cole said.
Lukashenko said Friday that Trump had invited him to Mar-a-Lago to discuss an “important deal.” Cole was in Belarus last week, where 250 political prisoners were released in the largest-ever release. In exchange, the United States agreed to lift further sanctions on the Belarusian financial sector, including the Ministry of Finance and the Belarusian Development Bank, as well as three potash companies.
Cole said that as a result of cooperation with the United States, about 500 political prisoners were released, including opposition leaders Serhiy Tikhanovsky, Maria Kolesnikova, and Nobel Prize laureate Ales Bialiatsky. Six U.S. citizens and dozens of foreign citizens were also released.
“The easing of sanctions is contingent on sustained improvements in behavior and President Lukashenko’s fulfillment of his promise to immediately end all politically motivated arrests,” the official said. Cole declined to say what, if any, preconditions might be put forward for a meeting between Trump and Lukashenko.
“Ultimately, it depends on the president,” he said.
The envoy expressed hope that the US would be able to secure the release of the remaining political prisoners by the end of the year. According to the Belarusian human rights group Viasna, nearly 900 political prisoners remain behind bars.
The FT writes that Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than 30 years, has long sought to pit Russia and the West against each other for personal gain. During the first Trump administration, the US sought to warm relations with Belarus to strengthen the country's independence from Moscow.
American officials have tried to present their recent rapprochement efforts as largely a humanitarian gesture.
“This is 95% humanitarian. I'm not going to drive a wedge between him and Putin. This is a 30-year relationship. I know who Lukashenko is. But we have a very good relationship. We trust each other. This is Trump, this is Trump-style foreign policy, where you get to know someone,” said Cole, who has traveled to Belarus several times over the past year and met with Lukashenko.