‘How much am I worth? A ton of potash? A thousand tons?’ Ales Bialiatski, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, asked after his release from a Belarusian prison in December 2025.
Bialiatski, a human rights campaigner, is one of more than 500 political prisoners who have been released from Belarusian jails as a result of ongoing negotiations between Minsk and Washington over the past two years. The diplomatic exchange has found a steady rhythm: every few months, a US delegation led by John Coale, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, arrives in Minsk; Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the Belarusian strongman president, releases a group of political prisoners; and in return, Washington offers public praise and – in reference to Bialiatski’s question – eases sanctions on key sectors of the country’s economy.
