The Trump administration has quietly engaged Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko—long considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally—as part of an unconventional diplomatic effort that trades sanctions relief for the release of political prisoners.

According to people familiar with the talks, the initiative is designed not only to secure the freedom of detainees but also to test whether incentives could eventually be used to draw Russia out of isolation and toward a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine.

The outreach has been led by John P. Coale, a lawyer and longtime associate of President Donald Trump, who has met repeatedly with Lukashenko in Minsk.

Coale described the effort as explicitly pragmatic, saying, “The hell with who you’re talking to, if this person can deliver what you want, that’s all that counts.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that the talks unfolded in informal settings, including long dinners, and focused on easing sanctions on key Belarusian industries in return for prisoner releases. U.S. officials see Belarus as a proving ground for a broader strategy aimed at Moscow.

Since Trump returned to office, Belarus has released more than 250 detainees from over 10 countries, including at least five U.S. citizens.

Among those freed was Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, along with prominent opposition figures such as Maria Kalesnikava.

In exchange, Washington lifted sanctions on Belarusian potash exports, a major source of hard currency, and eased restrictions on the state airline, Belavia, allowing access to Boeing software and spare parts.

According to the Journal, the administration also facilitated repairs to Lukashenko’s presidential jet.

One of the most striking—and revealing—episodes involved a discussion of Zepbound, an injectable weight-loss drug produced by Eli Lilly.

During a vodka-heavy dinner negotiation, Lukashenko reportedly asked Coale whether he had lost weight.

Coale credited Zepbound and handed the Belarusian leader a manufacturer brochure.

According to the Journal, U.S. officials later explored whether it might be possible to arrange a supply of the drug for Lukashenko’s personal use.

The episode underscored how personal incentives became intertwined with statecraft.

While no formal agreement over the drug was disclosed, the willingness to even consider such a request highlighted the degree to which the diplomacy relied on rapport, flattery, and individualized concessions alongside formal sanctions policy.

Lukashenko, who has openly described himself as “the last and only dictator in Europe,” has for years used political prisoners as bargaining chips with the West.

U.S. officials involved in the effort view the Belarus channel as a test case for engaging Putin himself. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for more than three decades, is described by U.S. officials as the foreign leader Putin trusts most.

The administration believes that demonstrating tangible benefits for cooperation—sanctions relief, economic access, and diplomatic engagement—could eventually influence Russia’s calculations.

One U.S. official told the Journal that Lukashenko’s role is to reinforce the message to Putin that cooperation with Washington can yield results.

Lukashenko has advised U.S. officials on how to approach the Russian leader and played a role in encouraging last summer’s U.S.–Russia summit in Alaska.

The Belarus back channel has become intertwined with talks led by Trump ally Steve Witkoff aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The strategy has provoked unease among European governments and Belarusian opposition figures.

While many welcome the release of prisoners, they fear the approach rewards one of Europe’s most repressive regimes and legitimizes hostage-taking as a diplomatic tool.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader widely seen as the legitimate winner of Belarus’s 2020 election, described the situation as emotionally conflicted, warning that Lukashenko is “willing to sell people as long as it is possible.”

Critics also point to Belarus’s record of mass repression following the 2020 protests, including the jailing of more than 30,000 demonstrators, documented cases of torture, and the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to arrest an opposition journalist. Lukashenko has also deepened military cooperation with Moscow, announcing the deployment of Russia’s Oreshnik nuclear missile on Belarusian territory and placing it on “combat alert.”

Despite the risks, the Trump administration appears committed to the approach.

Officials argue that securing the release of hundreds of prisoners and opening potential paths to influence Moscow justify engagement with regimes long shunned by the West.

The Belarus talks illustrate a broader diplomatic philosophy centered on transactional bargaining and personal relationships, even with authoritarian leaders.

For now, the administration sees Belarus as a small but meaningful step toward its larger objective: reshaping the diplomatic landscape around Russia and testing whether sanctions relief, carefully calibrated, can be used as leverage to end Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.