The United States has lifted certain sanctions on Belarus’ national airline Belavia after Minsk freed 52 prisoners, a move Washington described as “constructive engagement,” the US embassy in Vilnius said on Thursday. “The limited relief package will allow Belavia to service and buy components for its existing fleet, which includes Boeing aircraft,” a spokesperson for the embassy told Reuters. Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, confirmed the decision, calling it the first easing of U.S. restrictions on Minsk’s state enterprises in months. “As of right now, we’re lifting sanctions on Belavia,” Coale said during a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko that was broadcast on state television. “Right now, they’re lifted… the president (Trump) three times said, ‘do it’, so we didn’t have to go through all the bureaucratic stuff. So it’s done by the State Department, Treasury and Commerce.” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the freed detainees had crossed into Lithuania on Thursday, thanking Washington and President Donald Trump for their role. “52 prisoners safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus today,” Nauseda wrote on X, noting that six were Lithuanian citizens. He added: “More than 1,000 political prisoners still remain in Belarusian prisons and we cannot stop until they see freedom!” According to Belarus state news agency Belta, the 52 released included 14 foreigners: six Lithuanians, two Latvians, two Poles, two Germans, one French national and one Briton. Nauseda later told reporters the group comprised “opposition figures, journalists and participants in protests,” but declined to name most of them, except Lithuanian national Elena Ramanauskiene, who had been jailed last year on espionage charges. Belavia has been under US and EU sanctions since 2021 for allegedly aiding the Lukashenko government and its role in the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to Minsk. Restrictions had barred the airline from leasing and maintaining Western-built aircraft. The move marks a rare gesture of cooperation between Washington and Belarus, though Nauseda urged further steps. “We are grateful, but we cannot be complacent. More must be done to free all political prisoners,” he said.
