Trump's envoy visits Belarus for talks with Lukashenko on prisoners

U.S. envoy John Coale, tasked by President Donald Trump with negotiating the release of political prisoners in Belarus, held talks in Minsk on Friday with President Alexander Lukashenko, state media said.

A brief video published by a Telegram channel linked to Lukashenko's administration showed him greeting Coale with a handshake and a brief embrace and congratulating him on his appointment last month as Trump's special envoy.

"You're currently our top official on Belarus. Tell Trump that we must do something about this. And we will," Lukashenko said.

State news agency Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying: "They say Trump loves flattery. But I'm not doing it for the sake of flattery. I want to say that I really like his actions lately."

He added: "We have many questions. The world is changing very quickly, and new problems are emerging that we need to discuss. And perhaps even resolve some of them."

Trump has urged Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to free up to 1,400 people that Trump has called "hostages."

Reuters