US and Belarus Officials Report Progress in Diplomatic Talks
According to sources who attended a meeting of western diplomats in Vilnius, US Deputy Foreign Minister Christopher Smith announced on February 13 that a “big deal” is expected to be closed between Washington and Minsk. Smith reportedly met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on February 12, marking the first high-level meeting between the two in five years and potentially signaling a significant warming of relations between the two nations.
Smith’s secret meeting with Lukaschenko was followed by a journey to Vilnius, where he was accompanied by a US citizen and two Belarusian political prisoners recently released from Minsk, according to the New York Times. In a speech at the US Embassy in Lithuania, Smith praised the successful completion of the “special operation” and described the release of the prisoners as a “great victory” and the implementation of Trump’s slogan “Peace through Strength.”
The US official also outlined a potential “big deal” as the next step, with the release of the prisoners to be reciprocated by the US relaxing sanctions on Belarusian banks and potash exports.
The US, the EU and the UK imposed sectoral sanctions on Belarus in the summer of 2021 in response to the disputed 2020 presidential election, which saw Lukashenko declared the winner. The sanctions were repeatedly tightened in response to the Belarusian government’s crackdown on opposition politicians, including the imprisonment of several opposition leaders, including Lukashenko’s presidential election opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled the country.
Belarusian President Lukashenko has characterized the Western-imposed sanctions as “bandit-like” while also emphasizing that the sanctions period is a “time of opportunities.