The United States has lifted sanctions on the state-owned airline Belavia, Belarusian state media reported on 11 September. The announcement was attributed to John Cole, deputy special representative of the US president for Ukraine, during a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk.

Sanctions against Belavia were first imposed by Washington over Belarus’s human rights abuses and its close alignment with Moscow. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said he was prepared to ease measures if Minsk moved toward releasing political prisoners.

Cole said the decision had been ordered by Trump and approved by relevant US agencies. He was quoted as saying Washington wants to normalize relations with Belarus and that lifting sanctions is “only the beginning.”

The same day, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said 52 former prisoners crossed into Lithuania from Belarus, including six Lithuanians and citizens of several EU states.

He thanked the US and Trump for their role, but stressed that more than 1,000 political prisoners remain jailed in Belarus.

Cole also delivered a personal gift from Trump – cufflinks with the White House emblem. The outreach follows Trump’s August call with Lukashenko, which he described as a “great conversation” ahead of meeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Belarus has remained a key ally of Moscow throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine, allowing Russian forces to use its territory for troop deployments and missile strikes, while avoiding direct involvement of its own army in frontline combat.