In Minsk, a quiet diplomatic transaction unfolded between two governments long estranged: Belarus agreed to release 25 political prisoners, and Washington agreed to lift sanctions on two companies while unfreezing tens of millions in assets. The arrangement, brokered by a US envoy acting on behalf of President Trump, marks the first concrete thaw in a relationship frozen since Lukashenko's violent suppression of the 2020 protests. It is a modest exchange measured against the scale of what remains unresolved — hundreds of prisoners still detained, and a deeper reckoning between sovereignty and
Belarus to Release 25 Prisoners as US Eases Sanctions
25 prisoners to be released from detention; over 900 political prisoners reportedly remain imprisoned in Belarus.