The envoy of the President of the United States, John Cole, speaks with journalists near the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, on September 11, 2025. AP/Mindaugas Kulbis
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed readiness to appoint the lawyer John Coale to the post of U.S. Special Envoy to Belarus. According to Trump, Coale successfully secured the release of 100 hostages.
“one of the truly great lawyers of our country”, whose victories included “the first major victory in a tobacco case”.
– Trump
The primary motivation for the appointment was to bring Coale into the negotiation process for the release of the hostages. Trump noted that Coale
“successfully secured the release of 100 hostages and is pursuing an additional 50”
– Trump
Trump also publicly addressed Alexander Lukashenko, calling him “the most honorable”.
“I would like to thank in advance the highly respected president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, for considering the release of these additional people”
– Trump
Prisoner Releases From Belarus
In September 2025, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko released 52 prisoners who had already crossed the Belarus–Lithuanian border. This was reported by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, noting that among them were six Lithuanian citizens. Also released was the well-known opposition blogger Ihor Losik, who spent more than five years behind bars.
The release of 52 prisoners was not the first such action amid Belarus–US contacts. Earlier, in June, after a visit by U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg to Lukashenko, it was possible to secure the release of 14 political prisoners, including opposition blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky. In light of these events, the United States also lifted sanctions on the Belarusian state airline Belavia.
Despite these steps, the human rights situation in Belarus remains dire. According to Gitanas Nausėda, more than 1,000 political prisoners are still in Belarusian prisons.