"Belarus has released Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut from jail as part of a prisoner exchange. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the release on Tuesday, noting that Warsaw had been helped in a joint diplomatic push on Minsk by the United States, Romania and Moldova. The prisoner swap with Poland saw 10 prisoners released overall, with signs that Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko is hoping to improve relations with the West once more. Ties have deteriorated due to his support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

"The release comes as part of a broader attempt to bring Belarus closer to the west, after the US secured the release of 123 prisoners including the Nobel peace prize winner Ales Bialiatski and the opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava late last year and removed some sanctions, including on Belarusian potash, a key export. The talks with Belarus's authoritarian leader, Aleksandr Lukashenko, often called 「Europe's last dictator」, were led by the US special envoy to Belarus, John Coale, who confirmed that three Poles and two Moldovans were released as part of the swap."

"Basically an argument with Lukashenko is, what are you getting out of this? It hurts you internationally and if Belarus wants to join the family of nations, this kind of things have to stop. Coale said he was planning to go back to Belarus in 「two or three weeks」 for further talks with the Belarusian regime. The United States has a lot to do on this issue, there's 800 to 900 political prisoners left to get out of Belarus, and we haven't stopped our work at all until we get every last one of them."

"Washington removed sanctions on Belarusian potash (a major export) in exchange for the earlier release of 123 prisoners, including Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski, late 2025"

"Tusk noted the exchange was 「the finale of a two-year complicated diplomatic game」"

"Poland secured the release of three nationals, including Poczobut, a cause célèbre for Polish civil society and the European Parliament (which awarded him the Sakharov Prize in 2025)"