The unconventional approach helped secure the release of 14 Belarusian opposition figures, US deputy envoy John Coale has said
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and Keith Kellogg, the US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia. © Belarusian Presidential Press Service via AP
A lunch with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko which included vodka shots helped secure the release of 14 opposition figures following rare talks between Washington and Minsk, a senior US official has revealed.
In an interview with Politico published on Sunday, John Coale, a deputy to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg, offered a glimpse into high-level US-Belarus talks in Minsk last month.
Shortly after the meeting, Belarus released several detained opposition activists, including prominent opposition figure Sergey Tikhanovsky, who immediately left the country for Lithuania.
According to officials in Minsk, Lukashenko pardoned the prisoners at Trump’s request and stressed that he acted out of “humanitarian considerations, to reunify families.” They added that the talks also focused on US-Belarus relations and international issues.
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Politico claimed the release “wouldn’t have happened without Coale’s efforts to forge a relationship with Lukashenko, including over a long lunch with vodka toasts.” Coale said, “I did two shots, didn’t throw up, but did not do a third one.”
While the lunch was held behind closed doors, footage from the talks released by Belarusian media shows Lukashenko cordially greeting the US delegation, hugging Kellogg, and patting other American officials on the shoulder.
According to Politico, Trump’s special envoys are able to pursue informal diplomacy while bypassing traditional State Department channels, which provides opportunities for direct, unconventional engagement.
Lukashenko later said the meeting was respectful, adding that it should not be interpreted as a concession to the West. “We were not playing at a giveaway… There was a respectful conversation.”
The talks with key Russian ally Belarus took place as the Trump administration made efforts to restore ties with Moscow while seeking to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict.