While looking for better reports with Putin, Trump calls Lucas.

Trump wrote on social networks ʹ describing Lucasenko as highly respected <x0 president” ) that his conversation with him was focused on releasing 1,300 political prisoners.

According to Valer Kavaleuski, head of an exiled organisation called the Euro-Atlantic Affairs Agency, Trump's emphasis on political prisoners was deeply symbolic.

“Trump placed the humanitarian issue, the release of political prisoners, at the head of his message”, Cavaleuski told Radio Free Europe (REL).

This stresses that humanitarian negotiations are appropriate for both Minsk and Washington. They avoid difficult issues, such as geopolitical or war in Ukraine, while they appear generous and worthy because they are related to people's lives”, he underlined.

For Lucashencon, long criticised and isolated by the West as Putin's dictator and close ally, Trump's call represented a diplomatic progress.

“A gift for Lucashencon”

Valer Karbalevic, political analyst for the REL Belarusan Service, said this call was “the great gift “for Lucas1>, because it allows a way back after the destruction of relations with the West when it brutally printed mass anti-meriting protests in the 2020 elections.

“Lukashenko is satisfied”, he wrote. He clearly feels a psychological distress because, now five years, Western countries have not recognised him as president of Belarus”.

But Cavaleuski thinks differently: “even with weak cards, as unknown, under Russian control and engaged in aggression against Ukraine, Lukashenko managed to connect with Trump... That wasn't a gift. It was the result of a targeted and capable diplomacy of the Belarusites”.

Svyatana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled Mediterranean opposition leader, welcomed Trump's efforts to free political prisoners in Belarus, but urged continued pressure on the Lukashenco regime.

This is an important humanitarian mission from the President [Trump] to save the lives of innocent people. We now expect Lucasanko's regime to stop all oppression and release all innocent people from prison, an essential step towards peace, freedom and reconciliation. And, until that happens, there should be no change in policy to the” regime, Tsikhanouskaya wrote on social networks.

Lukashenko has so far provided few details. His press secretary, Natalia Eissant, said only that “work in this direction is developing”.

Human rights organizations are skeptical.

Paval Sapelka from the Belarus Centre for Human Rights, Vyasna, stressed that oppression has intensified in recent months, even though he occasionally forgives prisoners.

“Authorities are witnessing parallel processes. Oppression is continuing and deteriorating, according to some indicators. Meanwhile, some people are released with forgiveness, sometimes with immediate deportation, which is unacceptable”, Sapelka told the REL.

“No one has talked about stopping the arrests or any political softness”, Dzmitry Yahorau from the BySol Foundation, which helps victims of printing in Belarus added.

Maryna Kasinerava from Discidentby, who supports political prisoners, said more than 1,300 people may have been imprisoned because of the regime's opposition.

“System has done everything to hide crimes against human rights, including closing the” judicial times, she said.

Kasinerava warned that Lukashenko could carry out a violent “transferfering” instead of releasing prisoners.

The regime can expel people with sackcloth on their heads. This has nothing to do with freedom in the healthy sense of the word”, she said.

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Since 2020, Vyasna has documented 360 pardons in Belarus. At least eight individuals have been expelled directly from prison despite maintaining only Belarusn citizenship. In the past five years, 8,532 people have faced politically motivated criminal charges, and 7,299 have been convicted.

For human rights advocates, the possibility of releasing 1,300 prisoners would be historic.

But they point out that since oppression does not stop, such a step will be more a tactical maneuver than a systemic change.

However, Cavaleuski said that Trump's commitment to Lucasenco, like his efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, can be a source of encouragement.

“Ende is hopeless in both Belarus and Ukraine at the moment. People in both countries see the Trump as someone who, though imperfect, is willing to engage and try to solve the crises facing”, he said.

European policymakers, in contrast, have kept their distance, standing in severe sanctions and isolation, which, according to Cavaluski, makes Trump's commitment more important.

“Maybe not the right path. Attention may be needed, including the reality that Lukashenko remains in power. But this provides an opportunity to free people from prison and slow the pressure”, he stressed.

For the moment, Trump's interest in Lucashencon has broken a several-year blockade. Whether this shows just a humanitarian gesture or the beginning of a new channel of American diplomacy remains unclear.

For the Belarusian opposition, concern is that Trump's humanitarian gestures can open the door for the legitimacy of Lucas without bringing about fundamental reforms. / REL/