In this photo released by the Belarusian presidential press service, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, right, and U.S. Presidential envoy John Coale shake hands during their meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP

Belarusian authorities have released Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova from prison, Pavel Sapelka, human rights advocate with the Viasna rights group, confirmed to the AP.

Their release comes as authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko seeks to improve relations with Washington. The U.S. earlier on Saturday announced lifting sanctions on the country's potash sector. In exchange for sanctions relief, Lukashenko pardoned 123 prisoners, the Belta state news agency reported.

A close ally of Russia, Minsk has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years. Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.

Earlier Saturday, the United States said it was lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash in the latest sign of a thaw between Washington and the isolated autocracy.

John Coale, the U.S. special envoy for Belarus, made the announcement after meeting Lukashenko in Minsk on Friday and Saturday.

Speaking with journalists, Coale described the two-day talks as "very productive," Belarus' state news agency Belta reported Saturday.

The U.S. envoy said that normalizing relations between Washington and Minsk was "our goal."

"We're lifting sanctions, releasing prisoners. We're constantly talking to each other," he said, according to Belta. He also said that the relationship between the countries was moving from "baby steps to more confident steps" as they increased dialogue.

The last time U.S. officials met with Lukashenko in September 2025, Washington announced easing some of the sanctions against Belarus while Minsk released more than 50 political prisoners into Lithuania. Overall, Belarus released more than 430 political prisoners since July 2024, in what was widely seen as an effort at a rapprochement with the West.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press on Saturday that sanctions relief was part of a deal between Minsk and Washington, in which another large group of political prisoners in Belarus was expected to be released.

"The freeing of political prisoners means that Lukashenko understands the pain of Western sanctions and is seeking to ease them," Tsikhanouskaya said.

She added: "But let's not be naive: Lukashenko hasn't changed his policies, his crackdown continues and he keeps on supporting Russia's war against Ukraine. That's why we need to be extremely cautious with any talk of sanctions relief, so that we don't reinforce Russia's war machine and encourage continued repressions."

Tsikhnouskaya also described European Union sanctions against Belarusian potash fertilizers as far more painful for Minsk than those imposed by the U.S, saying that while easing U.S. sanctions could lead to the release of political prisoners, European sanctions should push for long-term, systemic changes in Belarus and the end of Russia's war in Ukraine.

The latest round of discussions also touched on Venezuela, as well as Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Belta said.

Coale told reporters that Lukashenko had given "good advice" on how to address the conflict, saying that Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin were "longtime friends" with "the necessary level of relationship to discuss such issues."

"Naturally, President Putin may accept some advice and not others," Coale said.

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