{"id":160005,"date":"2025-10-14T20:10:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T17:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/160005\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"trumps-sticks-and-carrots-working-lukasenka-considers-releasing-more-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/160005\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s sticks and carrots working: \u0141uka\u0161enka considers releasing more prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka on October 14 declared his readiness to strike \u201ca big deal\u201d with the United States.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n \"\"\n
\n \n
\n (BelTA)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He held a meeting with Ivan Tertel, chief of the Committee for State Security (KGB); Prime Minister Alaksandar Tur\u010dyn; head of the presidential administration D\u017amitryj Krutoj; Security Council Secretary Alaksandar Valfovi\u010d; and Prosecutor General Andrej \u0160vied. The meeting came one month after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington was working toward the release of some 1,400 political prisoners in Belarus, whom he described as \u201chostages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the meeting, Tertel said that Minsk could achieve a breakthrough in relations with the United States. \u201cI think we will soon hear good news on this track,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hostages for sanctions relief<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is quite clear what the \u201cbig deal\u201d could be about: \u0141uka\u0161enka is seeking to exchange political prisoners for sanctions relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 11, he pardoned 52 prisoners after US envoy John Coale promised that Washington would ease its sanctions on Belarus\u2019s national airline, Bie\u0142avia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most importantly, the Belarusian leader hopes that Washington will pressure European governments to lift their sanctions. Bie\u0142avia remains banned from European airports, while the potash giant Bie\u0142aruskalij still has no access to the Port of Klaipeda, which once handled the bulk of Belarusian potash fertilizer exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian opposition has warned the European Union against following Trump\u2019s policy of engagement with Minsk, urging Brussels instead to tighten sanctions to compel the Belarusian government to ease repression and agree to systemic reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, some EU politicians question the sanctions policy, arguing that the restrictions have only driven Belarus deeper into Russia\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why \u0141uka\u0161enka wants a deal with Washington<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka hopes that talks with Washington will enhance his international standing and help him shed the image of being the Kremlin\u2019s puppet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that Belarus, as Russia\u2019s closest ally, has been assigned a certain role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis and in building a regional security architecture. Americans see us [as participants] in this process. We are ready to participate,\u201d he told officials on October 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tertel added that the talks with Washington center on Ukraine: \u201cWe are the ones who understand both the Russian and the Ukrainian sides. We could find a consensus in that complicated situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He might have a point. Belarus is already facilitating exchanges of prisoners of war and the bodies of soldiers killed in action between Russia and Ukraine. In the future, \u0141uka\u0161enka would like to be part of any regional security negotiations and has repeatedly proposed that Minsk host talks on a Ukrainian settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By engaging with Washington, \u0141uka\u0161enka seeks to distance himself from Moscow and reduce the risk of Belarus being fully absorbed by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is aware of the risks such dealings pose, especially from Moscow\u2019s reaction. He suggested that officials define \u201cred lines\u201d that must not be crossed to the detriment of Belarus\u2019s relations with Russia and China, or its obligations within Russian-led alliances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka also understands that overtures to Washington could unsettle his security apparatus. Security officers may fear that releasing people they label as \u201cextremists\u201d or \u201cterrorists\u201d could lead to investigations into their own roles in repression \u2014 with \u0141uka\u0161enka potentially shifting the blame onto them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the mass release of political prisoners could embolden the opposition at home and abroad while demoralizing the regime\u2019s supporters. Unsurprisingly, \u0141uka\u0161enka proposed convening a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the possible \u201cbig deal\u201d with Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese global issues that I mentioned, especially Belarusian-American relations, should be discussed by a broader circle, and a collective decision should be made,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka does not want his loyalists to perceive him as a traitor, so he prefers to hide behind a \u201ccollective decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his opponents, however, the main goal remains the release of as many political prisoners as possible\u2014people unjustly convicted for their political activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criticism of Nobel Prize<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, \u0141uka\u0161enka advised the US president not to worry about not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belarusian ruler criticized the Nobel Committee as a \u201cpoliticized structure\u201d and called its laureates \u201crenegades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sometimes think that if one of you or I were offered this award, I would certainly turn it down. Because we know what contribution our activists have made to world peace. They haven\u2019t done anything. On the contrary, they have contributed to this so-called war and are pushing Belarus into it,\u201d said \u0141uka\u0161enka, a vocal supporter of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s comments referred to Belarusian Nobel laureates \u2014 writer \u015aviat\u0142ana Aleksijevi\u010d (Svetlana Alexievich) and human rights defender Ale\u015b Bialacki, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence in Belarus on politically motivated charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticized the Nobel Committee\u2019s decision to award this year\u2019s Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition politician Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, claiming that \u201cshe fought for the destruction of Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf a prize has been promised to Donald Trump next year, then we can count on him to pursue a policy of peace \u2014 at least until he receives the Nobel Prize. But he will receive it for sure. I emphasize once again that we should not congratulate him because of our attitude toward the Nobel Prize,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did not clarify who had allegedly promised Trump the prize in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka on October 14 declared his readiness to strike \u201ca big deal\u201d with the United States. He held a meeting with Ivan Tertel, chief of the Committee for State Security (KGB); Prime Minister Alaksandar Tur\u010dyn; head of the presidential administration D\u017amitryj Krutoj; Security Council Secretary Alaksandar Valfovi\u010d; and Prosecutor General Andrej \u0160vied. The meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":151416,"template":"","rubric":[24],"class_list":["post-160005","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-theviewer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s sticks and carrots working: \u0141uka\u0161enka considers releasing more prisoners | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka on October 14 declared his readiness to strike \u201ca big deal\u201d with the United States. 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