US President Donald Trump has announced plans for a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko during an upcoming “Board of Peace” session, following claims of progress in negotiations over the release of detainees in Belarus. Trump said the planned encounter comes after diplomatic engagement led by his envoy, John Coale, who recently visited Minsk.

According to Trump, Coale’s talks with Lukashenko resulted in the release of 250 additional prisoners, bringing the total number of individuals freed since last year to more than 500. He described the development as a significant diplomatic achievement and expressed appreciation to Lukashenko, stating that he looks forward to meeting him at the forthcoming peace-focused gathering.

The developments follow a visit to Minsk on March 19 by the US envoy, where discussions with Lukashenko covered broader issues including the functioning of diplomatic missions, prospects for economic cooperation, and the contentious issue of political detainees. Lukashenko, however, continues to reject the classification of such individuals as political prisoners, arguing that the term has no basis in Belarusian law.

During the same visit, Coale also raised the possibility of a future visit by Lukashenko to the United States. Earlier exchanges in December 2025 reportedly included claims that Lukashenko had provided informal advice to the Trump administration regarding the war in Ukraine, further signaling a gradual warming of contacts between Washington and Minsk.

The latest prisoner releases were also linked by US representatives to diplomatic bargaining, with some reporting that sanctions relief discussions formed part of the broader engagement. According to diplomatic accounts cited in reporting, a portion of those released were transferred to Lithuania, while most remained inside Belarus. Rights organizations, however, maintain that the overall number of political detainees in the country remains high, estimating that more than a thousand people have been imprisoned in connection with the 2020 post-election crackdown.

At the same time, US–Belarus relations appear to be cautiously evolving, with earlier smaller-scale releases already taking place under similar diplomatic channels. Belarusian state media has even suggested the possibility of reopening the US embassy in Minsk, alongside speculation about a direct Trump–Lukashenko meeting.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than three decades, remains a controversial figure internationally, with his government continuing to face criticism over political repression, even as selective prisoner releases and diplomatic contacts increase.