Minsk: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday met with a delegation from US President Donald Trump's team in Minsk led by US special envoy for Belarus John Coale. Welcoming Coale, Lukashenko expressed that Belarusian society is following his visits with 'great interest,' while noting that neighboring countries and other state leaders are also closely monitoring the meeting.

According to Anadolu Agency, Lukashenko mentioned that the company at the meeting had expanded, as he had asked Prime Minister Alexander Turchin to join the talks. Turchin was there to report in detail on the implementation of agreements reached during previous contacts with the US side. Coale conveyed greetings from Trump and stated that the US president 'fully supports everything we are doing.'

The Belarusian officials taking part in the talks included Turchin, Ivan Tertel, the head of Belarus' intelligence agency the KGB, and Belarus' UN Ambassador Valentin Rybakov. This meeting marks Coale's first visit with Lukashenko in six months. Washington has shown interest in further releases of what it refers to as 'political prisoners' in Belarus as part of its engagement with Minsk. Previous rounds of talks have previously led to the release of hundreds of detainees and the easing of some US sanctions.