Belarusian Nobel Prize winner Ales Bialiatski speaks to journalists in Vilnius, Lithuania, after his release. Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images

Belarus frees opposition figures as US lifts some sanctions – POLITICO

13 Dec 2025, 14:50 by Francesca Micheletti · POLITICO

Belarus released more than 100 political prisoners on Saturday, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and activist Maria Kolesnikova, after the U.S. agreed to remove some sanctions from the country.

Belarus released a total of 123 prisoners following talks between authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, John Coale. Viktar Babaryka, a former opposition presidential candidate, was also among those released Saturday.

The U.S. agreed to lift sanctions on potash, a key fertilizer component and an important export for Belarus, a historical ally of Russia.