August 17, Pozirk. US President Donald Trump has praised Alaksandar Łukašenka for the second time in three days in a post on his social network Truth Social.
“Thank you to Belarus and its powerful leader,” he wrote, referring to the recent liberation of several jailed regime critics. “I hope the 1,300 [imprisoned dissidents] will soon be released, also!”
Two days ago, Trump described the Belarusian ruler as a “highly respected president” after a phone call ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
According to Trump, the purpose of the call was to thank Łukašenka for freeing 16 prisoners recently. “We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners. Our conversation was a very good one,” the US president said.
Experts noted that previous Washington’s contacts with Minsk have always resulted in the release of regime critics.
Belarusian officials have indicated that Minsk has engaged with Washington since mid-2024. Since then, the Belarusian ruler has pardoned more than 300 imprisoned regime critics.
