US special envoy John Coale said Thursday that “great progress” has been made in easing tensions between Belarus and Lithuania following talks with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Speaking after the meeting, Coale said he had raised concerns important to Lithuania during negotiations in Minsk and expressed optimism about the outcome.
“I think we're getting great progress with that,” he told Reuters. “Lukashenko understood that these kind of irritants are no good.”
His comments came after Belarus released 250 political prisoners following the talks, while Washington agreed to lift sanctions on several Belarusian entities in return.
Coale said he had also met Lithuanian leaders earlier this week “to try and solve some of their problems” with Belarus.
He noted that Lukashenko had previously pledged to halt the flow of balloons into Lithuania, but added that the Belarusian leader does not view cigarette smuggling or the truck detentions as major issues.
Lithuania has accused Minsk of orchestrating a flow of migrants through its borders, encouraging cigarette smuggling with weather balloons that have caused over dozen closures of Vilnius airport, and seizing hundreds of Lithuanian trucks.
The United States has in recent months stepped up diplomatic engagement with Belarus, with President Donald Trump easing some sanctions and pursuing closer ties with Minsk.
Belarus has released dozens of detainees in recent months, largely as a result of US efforts. Coale described Thursday’s release of 250 prisoners as a major milestone.
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