It was another sign of a possible rapprochement between Washington and Minsk, a close ally of Russia that has faced Western isolation for years. U.S. President Donald Trump and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko spoke on the phone last month, and the American leader even suggested a face-to-face meeting could be in the works.
Here the video of US observers in Zapad 2025 (Joint Rus/ Bel military exercise )
NOTE: This article is from 12 september, I think this news escaped notice due to all other headlines. I started digging after reading that US envoys were invited to observe Zapad 2025
Putin needs spare parts for civilian airplanes, so Trump will lift sanctions from Belarus to help Putin.
Wait, Belarus had political prisoners?
I’m fully aware of the atrocities that happened there some years ago, and how they basically reverted back to a Soviet vassall state, but I did not know they had (presumably US/international) prisoners. When and how?
If I perceived the examples in the article correctly, it’s mostly international citizens who have been working in Belarus, e.g. as journalists (for critical media outlets), or Belarussians who are (were) journalists, oppositional politicians or in other ways active against the regime.
