LOADING ERROR LOADINGVILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Saturday freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and other prominent political prisoners, a human rights group confirmed. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024. John Coale, the U.S. special envoy for Belarus, announced the lifting of sanctions on potash after meeting Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday and Saturday. He said that normalizing relations between Washington and Minsk was “our goal.”Advertisement“We’re lifting sanctions, releasing prisoners. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jan. 29, 2024.

Source: Huffington Post December 13, 2025 13:53 UTC