The United States has decided to ease sanctions against Belarus.

Potash fertilizers are one of Belarus's main export commodities. Belaruskali was hit with sanctions back in 2021, and Washington now promises to ease the restrictions.

Washington is lifting sanctions on Belarusian potassium, US Special Envoy to Belarus John Cole announced. He was quoted by the Telegram channel "Pool of the First," which is close to the press service of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Cole clarified that the restrictions are being lifted by Trump's own decision.

"I think this is a very good move by the US for Belarus. We're lifting them [sanctions] now <...> As relations between the two countries normalize, more and more sanctions will be lifted," Cole said following talks with Lukashenko in Minsk.

On Friday, December 12, the American delegation, led by Cole, held a closed meeting with Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence. The Belarusian-American talks continued the following day. Following the meeting, Cole also stated that Lukashenko was giving "good advice" on resolving the Ukrainian conflict.

Shortly after Cole announced the lifting of sanctions against the Belarusian potash industry, Belarusian authorities announced that Lukashenko had "decided to pardon 123 citizens of various countries convicted under the laws of the Republic of Belarus for various crimes—espionage, terrorism, and extremism." The decision was made "as part of the agreements reached with US President Donald Trump and at his request, in connection with the lifting of illegal sanctions against the potash industry of the Republic of Belarus." Among those released were opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2021, and Lukashenko's former rival Viktor Babariko.

In the summer of 2021, the US imposed sectoral sanctions against the Belarusian economy for the first time in connection with the presidential elections the previous year. Specifically, Belaruskali, one of the world's largest potash fertilizer producers, was placed on the sanctions list. At the time, the US Treasury Department described the company as "a key source of tax revenue and foreign exchange earnings for the Lukashenko regime." Potash fertilizers are one of Belarus's main export commodities.

In November, the US Treasury Department approved financial transactions involving aircraft linked to Lukashenko, but the decision did not affect other assets.

Lukashenko last met with Cole in September. Following that meeting, the US lifted sanctions on the Belarusian airline Belavia , which had been in place since 2023.

The EU blacklisted Belavia in December 2021, following the forced landing of a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius in Minsk and the detention of the former editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel.Roman Protasevich. After his arrest, the journalist began collaborating with the Belarusian authorities. In 2023, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiracy to seize power, but Lukashenko soon pardoned him.

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