Belavia had been blacklisted by the Biden administration in 2023 over alleged election fraud and the Ukraine conflict
Washington has lifted sanctions on Belarus’ flag carrier Belavia as part of the deal, which freed 52 political prisoners from the country, US President Donald Trump’s envoy John Coale has said.
The administration of former US President Joe Biden had imposed the measures in 2023 over alleged election fraud and what it described as Minsk’s “complicity” in the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking on Thursday in Minsk alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Coale said he was “officially declaring” the lifting of sanctions on Belavia, stressing that the decision had been made directly by Trump, who had told him to “do it immediately.”
The decision had already been signed off on by the US State, Commerce, and Treasury Departments, as well as other relevant government agencies, he added.
The lifting of sanctions on Belavia is the first step toward normalizing bilateral relations, according to Coale. The Trump envoy recalled “a very productive” phone conversation between the two countries’ leaders, which was initiated by the US president in mid-August while on his way to the historic Alaska summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Lukashenko has praised Trump’s peacemaking efforts, saying no US leader had done as much to ensure peace.
The US imposed sectoral sanctions on Belarus’ economy in 2021, following similar moves by the EU and UK over the country’s 2020 presidential election. The vote had triggered mass protests in Belarus over what the opposition claimed was widespread fraud. Minsk denied the allegations, insisting that the unrest was orchestrated by the US and its European “satellites,” as well as neighboring Ukraine.
The West has since imposed several rounds of sanctions on Belarus, including after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Belarus is not directly involved in the conflict, but allowed Moscow to stage a push towards Kiev from its territory early in the conflict.
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Lukashenko said at the time that Minsk’s participation in the conflict was limited to self-defense and to preventing Ukraine from using Belarusian territory to attack Russia.
Such commitments are in line with the country’s obligations under the Union State, a political and economic integration framework with Russia that includes joint security provisions and aligned policies.
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