Belarus Releases Key Political Prisoner, Signs of Thaw in U.S.-Russia Relations | WPN World People News

At the urging of the United States, the Belarusian government on the 22nd released several political prisoners, including high-profile opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky. The move is being interpreted as a concrete sign of warming relations between the U.S. and Russia, Belarus's close ally.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he has pursued direct dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking a departure from previous U.S. policies of distancing from Moscow. Instead, the Trump administration has pushed for normalization of bilateral ties, with both countries stressing deeper cooperation on diplomatic and security issues.

Tikhanovsky’s release came just hours after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk—an eye-catching development in both timing and symbolism. Tikhanovsky's wife, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, herself a prominent opposition figure, expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for its mediation. “Words cannot express the joy in my heart,” she wrote on social platform X. Tikhanovskaya had taken her husband’s place in the 2020 presidential election after his arrest, ultimately losing but continuing her advocacy from exile as a leading voice of Belarus’s opposition movement.

European leaders also welcomed the news. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it was "a powerful symbol of hope" for all political prisoners suffering under Lukashenko's regime. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed “sincere joy,” while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called the release “long-awaited and overdue.” German Deputy Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also posted on X, calling it “excellent news.”

Tikhanovsky, 46, was arrested in the run-up to Belarus’s 2020 presidential election and has spent over five years in prison. He had planned to challenge Lukashenko’s decades-long rule, but was detained weeks before the vote. His wife stepped in to run in his place but lost, later fleeing the country.

In addition to Tikhanovsky, the release included 13 others, among them Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, who had been imprisoned in 2023 on charges of involvement with an “extremist organization.” His release, along with others, suggests Belarus may be attempting to ease its long-standing political repression under growing international pressure.