Belarus frees 52 political prisoners as US lifts some sanctions on its national airline

By YURAS KARMANAU and LIUDAS DAPKUS VILNIUS Lithuania AP Belarus freed political prisoners on Thursday as part of a deal brokered by the United States which lifted a few sanctions on the country s national airline Related Articles Brazilian Supreme Court panel sentences Bolsonaro to more than years in prison for coup attempt Venice mayor condemns informed attack on American Orthodox Jewish couple Russian drone incursion in Poland prompts NATO leaders to take stock of bigger threats Netanyahu killed any hope of Gaza hostages release with strike on Doha Qatari premier says UK fires ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson over his links to Jeffrey Epstein It was another sign of a doable rapprochement between Washington and Minsk a close ally of Russia that has faced Western isolation for years U S President Donald Trump and Belarus Alexander Lukashenko spoke on the phone last month and the American leader even suggested a face-to-face meeting could be in the works That would be a big win for Lukashenko who has ruled his nation of million with an iron fist for more than three decades Belarus has been repeatedly sanctioned by Western countries both for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in But more not long ago Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions He has regularly disclosed prisoners as a way to win favor including freeing Siarhei Tsikhanouski a key dissident and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in June The concession from the U S came a day after Poland denounced an incursion of Russian drones into its territory saying specific came from Belarus in what Western bureaucrats called an act of aggression NATO jets were scrambled and shot certain of the drones down Trump whose country is the major military power in NATO offered an ambiguous initial response to the incursion posting on his Truth Social platform What s with Russia violating Poland s airspace with drones Here we go Sanctions on Belavia eased Trump envoy John Coale released the lifting of sanctions at a meeting with Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday A few sanctions on Belarus national carrier Belavia were relaxed in light of prisoner releases so far according to a U S official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations That will allow the airline to repair and buy parts for its planes including Boeing aircraft The airline was sanctioned by the European Union the U S and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet traveling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk Once the plane landed government arrested Raman Pratasevich a dissident journalist who was on board Lukashenko who has relied on Russia s loans and cheap potential to keep Belarus business sector afloat called the Thursday move very significant Opposition leader Tsikhanouskaya warned that the easing of sanctions could allow Moscow whose aviation industry is sanctioned to get airplane parts through Belavia We understand that this is part of the deal she explained The Associated Press But lifting sanctions without systemic changes in the country could open loopholes that both the Lukashenko regime and Russia will use to circumvent the sanctions That could also create new opportunities for Belarus in its relationship with Russia Minsk will be able to resell the parts to Moscow at a very favorable price announced independent analyst Valery Karbalevich and it makes the Kremlin s leash on Belarus a little longer One prisoner disclosed refuses to go to Lithuania One of the prisoners circulated Thursday veteran opposition activist Mikalai Statkevich refused to cross into Lithuania and tried to return to Belarus but was blocked by the frontier guards Anatol Lyabedzka of Tsikhanouskaya s crew explained AP in a phone interview from a Lithuanian frontier overcoming where the prisoners were handed over He decided not to let Lukashenko kick him out of the country and is resisting a forced deportation Lyabedzka explained Maksim Viniarski another freed dissident informed AP that Statkevich repeatedly demanded to stop the bus taking him Viniarski and others to Lithuania and let him out As the bus entered the no-man s land between Belarus and Lithuania emaciated yet determined to resist Statkevich hit an crisis stop button opened the door and got out Statkevich announced that he won t leave the country and that he didn t need anyone to sell him out Viniarski revealed For a while Statkevich remained in the no-man s land but then Belarusian measure operatives took him in the direction of the Belarusian edge bridging Lyabedzka commented Statkevich s refusal recalled a similar one by Maria Kolesnikova a key leader in the mass protests that rocked Belarus in She became a symbol of Belarusian resistance after the officials tried to deport her in September Driven to the Ukrainian confines she briefly broke away from measure forces tore up her passport and walked back into Belarus She was convicted a year later on charges including conspiracy to seize power and sentenced to years in prison The other freed prisoners have crossed into Lithuania Lyabedzka noted FILE A Belavia plane of Belarus national carrier lands at the International Airport outside Vilnius Lithuania on Sunday May AP Photo Mindaugas Kulbis File U S Presidential envoy John Coale right speaks to journalists outside the U S Embassy in Vilnius Lithuania Thursday Sept ahead of the arrival of issued prisoners from Belarus AP Photo Mindaugas Kulbis People with old Belarusian flags wait outside the U S Embassy in Vilnius Lithuania ahead of the arrival of disclosed prisoners from Belarus Thursday Sept AP Photo Mindaugas Kulbis Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya speaks to journalists near the U S Embassy in Vilnius Lithuania Thursday Sept ahead of the arrival of issued prisoners from Belarus AP Photo Mindaugas Kulbis Show Caption of FILE A Belavia plane of Belarus national carrier lands at the International Airport outside Vilnius Lithuania on Sunday May AP Photo Mindaugas Kulbis File Expand Statkevich one of Lukashenko s majority of prominent and charismatic opponents attempted to run for president in but was arrested convicted on charges of organizing mass riots and sentenced to six years Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience and in he was published under pressure from the U S Statkevich was arrested again before the elections uncovered guilty once more of organizing mass riots and sentenced to another years He has been held incommunicado since February Also among those circulated were Ihar Losik a journalist for U S government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty as well other journalists and bloggers party and union leaders and foreigners Franak Viachorka Tsikhanouskaya s senior advisor reported AP that while bulk of the disclosed Belarusians are in normal physical and psychological condition several need urgent health care Elena Ramanauskien a Lithuanian who was detained in Belarus while visiting convicted of espionage and sentenced to six years burst into tears after stepping from the bus that brought her and chosen of the others back and thanked those who made her release attainable But particular Belarusians viewed their release differently Larysa Shchyrakova a -year-old journalist who was almost done serving her -year prison term in her hometown of Gomel explained she was deported I have no home no relatives here nothing Shchyrakova described reporters in Vilnius My mother died while I was in prison so now I can t even go to her grave Almost political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus according to human rights group Viasna and Trump has commented he wants to win the release of more Warming ties There have been signs of Trump seeking a thaw with Lukashenko much as he has with Russian President Vladimir Putin Soon after hosting Putin for talks in Alaska last month Trump hinted he was working on a deal to win the release of hundreds of prisoners held in Belarus after holding a wonderful talk with Lukashenko Trump declared in a social media posting following the call his first publicized engagement with Belarussian leader during his second term that the purpose of the conversation was to thank Lukashenko for the June prisoner release But the U S leader noted the two also talked about the promising release of multiple more being held in Belarus Trump also added I look forward to meeting President Lukashenko in the future That would be a remarkable turnaround for a leader who has been widely shunned for his relentless repression of the opposition and independent media especially after tens of thousands of people poured into the streets to protest his reelection in August in a vote widely seen as rigged In the ensuing crackdown tens of thousands were detained Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term in another voting process that the opposition called a farce Karmanau broadcasted from Barcelona Spain Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn Estonia Katie Marie Davies in Manchester England and Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed