Belarus releases 52 political prisoners after meeting with U.S. delegation

Belarus released 52 prisoners after negotiations with an American delegation on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Vilnius.

“A U.S. led delegation with President Trump’s deputy assistant John Coale [is] heading to Vilnius after negotiations in Minsk, with 52 prisoners of various nationalities released,” the spokesperson said.

Alexander Lukashenko’s press pool published a video on Telegram showing the Belarusian leader meeting with Coale. In it, Lukashenko says: “If Donald [Trump] insists he’s ready to take all of the released prisoners to his country, then fine, let’s try to work out a global deal. As Mr. Trump likes to say, a big deal.”