Belarus leader hosts US envoy as he seeks to improve his country’s ties with the West

Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday hosted a U S envoy for talks in the Belarus capital of Minsk the latest step in the isolated leader s effort to improve ties with the West Lukashenko met with U S special envoy for Belarus John Coale according to state news agency Belta and the presidential press amenity The press utility stated the talks would continue Saturday The last time U S executives met with Lukashenko more than political prisoners were disclosed and brought to Lithuania Overall Belarus distributed more than prisoners since July in what was widely seen as an effort at a rapprochement with the West A close ally of Russia Minsk has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years Lukashenko has ruled the nation of million with an iron fist for more than three decades and the country has been sanctioned repeatedly by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Lukashenko s rule was challenged after a presidential vote that kept him in power when tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest a vote widely seen as rigged They were the largest demonstrations in Belarus history after the country became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union In an ensuing crackdown tens of thousands of people were detained with various beaten by police Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned Five years after the mass demonstrations Lukashenko won a seventh term in an poll that the opposition called a farce More in recent days however Belarus has begun to free chosen political prisoners to try to win favor with the West Since Donald Trump returned to the White House this year Lukashenko has circulated dozens of prisoners including key dissident figure Siarhei Tsikhanouski the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya His release came after a visit to Belarus by U S envoy Keith Kellogg Trump spoke to Lukashenko by phone in August after one such release and even suggested a face-to-face meeting in what would be a big win for the Belarusian leader who has been dubbed Europe s Last Dictator A month later Lukashenko freed more than prisoners and the U S lifted sanctions on the country s national airline Belavia allowing it to repair and buy parts for its planes including Boeing aircraft Those distributed were brought to Lithuania But one prominent opposition activist Mikola Statkevich refused to leave Belarus The -year-old who described the administration s actions as a forced deportation got off the bus and stayed for several hours in the no-man s land between the countries before being taken away by Belarusian police and returned to prison Human rights advocates point out that Belarusian executives continue their relentless crackdown on dissent despite the prisoners releases with more people regularly arrested on politically motivated charges There are still about political prisoners in Belarus according to human rights group Viasna including its founder Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski Source