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Items tagged with: Lukashenko
#Lukashenko has denied there are #PoliticalPrisoners in #Belarus & described the people in question as "bandits". As recently as Aug, he asked why he should free people he sees as opponents of the state who might "again wage war against us"
#Trump has publicly described Lukashenko as "the highly respected president of Belarus", a description that jars with the opposition who see him as a #dictator. Yet, he has urged him to free up to 1,400 prisoners whom Trump described as "hostages".
The opposition has consistently said it sees Trump's outreach to #Lukashenko as a humanitarian effort [flattery or else punishment], but #EU #sanctions should stay in place.
"#US sanctions are about people. EU sanctions are about systemic change — stopping the war, enabling democratic transition, & ensuring accountability. These approaches do not contradict each other; they complement each other," exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said in a statement.
#Sanctions were tightened again under President #Biden after #Lukashenko allowed #Belarus to serve as a staging ground for #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine in 2022.
The exiled Belarusian opposition expressed gratitude to #Trump [🙄] & said the fact that Lukashenko had agreed to release prisoners in return for the concessions on potash was proof of the effectiveness of [Biden’s] sanctions [again, not #tariffs. Tariffs are idiotic].
#Sanctions not #tariffs, tyvm. Tariffs hurt the US people too.
#Belarus President Alexander #Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners on Saturday including #Nobel Peace Prize winner #AlesBialiatski & leading opposition figure #MariaKalesnikava after 2 days of talks with an “envoy” for #Trump, a US stmnt said.
In return, the US agreed to lift sanctions on Belarus #potash. Potash is a key component in fertilizers, & the fmr Soviet state is a leading global producer.