Two hundred and fifty political prisoners walked out of Belarusian custody on Thursday, hours after US Special Envoy John Coale met President Aliaksandr Lukashenko in Minsk.

Of those freed, 235 were released inside Belarus and 15 were transferred to Lithuania. Among them was journalist Katsyaryna Andreyeva, imprisoned for more than five years for livestreaming the police response to protests following a disputed presidential election.

The deal came with a price tag. Washington agreed to lift sanctions on Belinvestbank, the Development Bank of Belarus, and all remaining restrictions on potash companies Belaruskali and Belarusian Potash Company — a significant economic concession to a regime the US once sought to isolate.

Coale called the release “a significant humanitarian milestone and a testament to the President’s commitment to direct, hard-nosed diplomacy.” Lukashenko, characteristically, referred to those freed as “so-called political prisoners,” adding: “We do not have such a designation.”

The numbers tell a harder story. The Viasna human rights center counts more than 1,100 political prisoners in Belarus. Thursday’s release accounts for roughly a quarter of that total. Hundreds more remain behind bars.

Progress, certainly. Resolution, not yet.

Sources

• Belarus releases 250 political prisoners after negotiations with US — Euronews
• Washington Eases Sanctions On Minsk As Belarus Releases 250 Prisoners — RFE/RL
• Belarus Frees 250 Political Prisoners in U.S.-Brokered Deal — The Moscow Times