US eyes Trump-Lukashenko White House meeting amid thaw in ties, envoy says
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The United States is considering inviting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House or Mar-a-Lago, U.S. Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale told the Financial Times in an interview published March 23.
The potential visit would mark a sharp shift in Washington's approach toward Minsk after years of isolation imposed following the regime's violent crackdown on protests in 2020.
"We've still got a lot of work to do to get there, but I think we'll get there," Coale said.
The remarks follow Coale's trip to Belarus on March 19, after which Lukashenko released 250 political prisoners. Following the visit, Washington eased sanctions targeting Belinvestbank, the country's Development Bank, and its Finance Ministry.
Lukashenko said on March 20 that the United States had proposed a "big deal" to Belarus, adding that the initiative came from Trump.
"This is important for Belarus and for me personally. That is why I said: 'I'm fine with this; tell Donald that I agree to work out this big deal,'" Lukashenko said, without detailing the proposal.
It remains unclear when Lukashenko might visit the country. The two leaders have held only one phone call during Trump's second term, on Aug. 15, 2025.
For years prior to 2020, Lukashenko maintained a balancing act between Russia and Western countries, pursuing what analysts described as a "multi-vector" foreign policy.
That approach collapsed after the disputed 2020 presidential election, widely believed to have been won by opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Mass protests followed the vote, prompting a sweeping crackdown by authorities.
In February, Trump publicly described his relationship with Lukashenko in positive terms, saying, "We have a good relationship, and the leader is somebody that I have a lot of respect for."
A White House official earlier told the Kyiv Independent that around 500 political prisoners had been released following Coale's engagement with Minsk, including six U.S. citizens.
Despite the outreach, Belarus remains closely aligned with Russia.
The Belarusian dictator, who has ruled the country since 1994, has provided political and military support to Moscow throughout its full-scale war against Ukraine.
