VILNIUS (Reuters) - Belarus has freed 52 prisoners of various nationalities and they are now on their way to Lithuania with the U.S. delegation that negotiated their release, a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Vilnius said on Thursday.
President Donald Trump had earlier called on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to release detainees whom the U.S. leader has described as "hostages".
It was the biggest batch of prisoners so far pardoned by Lukashenko, who is seeking to repair relations with
the United States after years of isolation and sanctions on his former Soviet state.
But it was far short of the total of 1,300 or 1,400 prisoners whose release Trump had called for in a conversation with Lukashenko last month and in subsequent social media posts.
"A U.S. led delegation with President Trump's deputy assistant John Coale (is) heading to Vilnius after negotiations in Minsk, with 52 prisoners of various nationalities released," the embassy spokesperson said.
Belarus' state news agency Belta said the prisoners freed on Thursday included 14 foreign nationals from Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, France, Britain and Germany.
Belta also quoted Coale, a lawyer acting on behalf of Trump, as saying Trump had told Lukashenko that the United States wants to reopen its embassy in Minsk.
Earlier, Lukashenko had greeted Coale in Minsk, Belarus' state news agency Belta reported. Coale passed a letter from Trump in English to Lukashenko signed "Donald", Belta showed.
"If Donald insists that he is ready to take in all these released prisoners, God bless you, let's try to work out a global deal, as Mr. Trump likes to say, a big deal," said Lukashenko, who also praised the U.S. leader for seeking a peace deal in Ukraine.
Coale said the fact that Trump had signed the letter simply Donald was "a rare act of personal friendship".
PUTIN ALLY
Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has led Belarus through more than three decades of authoritarian rule. He had said as recently as August 22 that he was not prepared to release "bandits" who might "wage war" against the state.
Trump has flattered the veteran leader, long treated as a pariah by the West, and said he plans to meet with him. Last week he described him as a "very respected man, strong person, strong leader".
The release took place at a moment of high tension in the Russia-Ukraine war, a day after Poland shot down suspected Russian drones over its territory and on the eve of a major joint exercise between the Russian and Belarusian armed forces.
Belarus shares borders with three NATO countries and with Ukraine. Lukashenko allowed Putin to use Belarusian territory for his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but his army has not directly participated in the war.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas; Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Terje Solsvik, William Maclean)
