Washington agrees to return Belarus’ “stuck funds,” envoy says

The United States has agreed to return funds belonging to Belarus that have been “stuck” in a bank, US Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale said during talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

“These funds should be unfrozen and returned. We have asked the bank to unfreeze these funds. We are now working out a mechanism for how to do this. As soon as we receive a concrete response from the bank, we will immediately inform you,” he stressed.

Lukashenko thanked Coale for the US side’s close attention to his statements.

On September 11, 2026, Lukashenko stated that approximately $43–44 million belonging to Belarus was stuck at Citibank after a cooperating company transferred the payment, describing the situation as a matter of concern for the US and calling for the funds to be returned.

He made the remarks while announcing that Belarus had begun loading potash fertiliser for sale to the United States following earlier US sanctions relief, with limited volumes available under prior contracts. Lukashenko noted that the Belarusian government had provided a written report on the blocked funds and described their return as a basic precondition for advancing bilateral dialogue.

By Jeyhun Aghazada