Belarus president welcomes partial US sanctions relief

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has publicly expressed his appreciation to the United States for the partial easing of sanctions imposed on the country, signaling a potentially significant shift in bilateral relations.

Lukashenko conveyed his gratitude during a meeting with Belarus’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Valentin Rybakov, Caliber.Az reports, citing Belarus media.

"The fact that the Americans have started to lift sanctions against us, I thank them for that, it will make our work easier,” he remarked.

While Lukashenko acknowledged that addressing sanctions is not the primary focus of Belarus’ current policy agenda, he emphasized their substantial impact, stating that the restrictions “weigh heavily on the economy.”

Belarus freed 52 political prisoners on September 11, as the United States announced it was lifting some sanctions on the isolated country’s national airline.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has been repeatedly slapped with Western sanctions both for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

For more than a year, Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions and the country’s international isolation. He has regularly released prisoners as a way to win favor.

In June, Belarus freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a visit by a senior envoy of US President Donald Trump.

Shortly before September 11 release became public, Belarusian state media posted a video of US envoy John Coale announcing that Washington had lifted sanctions on Belarus national air carrier, Belavia. The airline was sanctioned by the European Union, the US, and others after Belarusian flight controllers ordered a commercial jet traveling from Greece to Lithuania to land in Minsk. Once the plane landed, authorities arrested Raman Pratasevich, a dissident journalist who was on board.

By Vafa Guliyeva