By Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan
Dec 13 (Reuters) – The United States is lifting sanctions on Belarusian potash, President Donald Trump’s envoy John Coale said on Saturday after two days of talks in Minsk with President Alexander Lukashenko.
Coale, who has been tasked by Trump with negotiating the release of more than 1,000 political prisoners, described it as a good move for Belarus but did not say what Lukashenko had agreed to do in return.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, is a major producer of potash, a key component in fertiliser.
“Per the instructions of President Trump, we, the United States, will be lifting sanctions on potash,” Coale was heard saying in video footage published by the Telegram channel of Lukashenko’s presidential administration.
The U.S. and the European Union imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Belarus after Minsk launched a violent crackdown on protesters following a disputed election in 2020, jailing nearly all opponents of Lukashenko who did not flee abroad.
Sanctions were tightened after Lukashenko allowed Belarus to serve as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
OPPOSITION OFFICIAL SEES NO POLICY CHANGE BY LUKASHENKO
Reacting to the news that the U.S. sanctions on potash were being lifted, senior Belarusian opposition official Franak Viacorka said the EU sanctions on potash – which include a ban on exporting via European ports – were more important that the U.S. sanctions.
“Lukashenko has not changed his policy. Repression continues, and he continues to support Russia’s war against Ukraine,” Viacorka told Reuters.
“That is why we must be extremely careful with any talk of easing sanctions — so that we do not end up strengthening Russia’s war machine or rewarding ongoing repression.”
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT VENEZUELA
State news agency Belta quoted Coale as saying he had discussed a wide range of issues with Lukashenko, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and the situation in Venezuela.
Lukashenko has held two recent meetings with a top Venezuelan diplomat and said that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Trump is pressing to leave office, would be welcome to come to Belarus.
Coale said he believed Lukashenko’s closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin could be useful in the context of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“Your president has a long history with President Putin and has the ability to advise him. This is very useful in this situation. They are longtime friends and have the necessary level of relationship to discuss such issues,” Coale said, according to Belta.
“Naturally, President Putin may accept some advice and not others. This is a way to facilitate the process.”
(Reporting by Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan,Editing by Peter Graff and Timothy Heritage)
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