President Trump said he spoke to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on his way to the summit in Alaska to thank him for recently releasing prisoners.

The talk with Mr. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was over the phone ahead of the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska aimed at finding peace in Ukraine. The conversation occurred after the prisoners were freed.

“The purpose of the call was to thank him for the release of 16 prisoners,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Mr. Lukashenko as “highly respected.”

“We are also discussing the release of 1,300 additional prisoners,” Mr. Trump added. “Our conversation was a very good one.”

Mr. Lukashenko invited Mr. Trump and his family to visit Belarus, and the U.S. president agreed, according to BelTA, a news agency in the Eastern European country.

The leaders also discussed bilateral relations and the war in Ukraine, BelTA added.

Mr. Lukashenko last month pardoned 16 prisoners convicted on various charges, including extremism. Human rights groups welcomed the release but emphasized ongoing arrests.

For example, the Belarusian government pardoned and freed 14 prisoners in June, but also arrested 60 more people on politically motivated charges, according to The Associated Press.

Mass arrests and convictions of government critics in Belarus started in 2020 when Mr. Lukashenko was handed a sixth term in office despite opposition from Europe and the U.S.

Roughly 1,160 people behind bars in Belarus have been designated as political prisoners, including 38 journalists, according to Viasna, the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights group.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.