President Trump began talks earlier this year with the authoritarian leader, who was slapped with US and EU sanctions in 2021 for his violent crackdown on protesters following a disputed election in 2020 — sanctions which were tightened after he allowed Belarus to serve as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Other prisoners included five Ukrainian civilians detained in Belarus and accused of working for the special services, said Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, who helped carry out the release. 7 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, Belarus, on June 27.
Author: Associated Press
Published at: 2025-12-13 19:22:53
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