00:01U.S. envoy John Cole met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Thursday
00:06as Washington pushes for the release of political prisoners in the Russia-allied country.
00:12More than 1,100 political prisoners are incarcerated in Belarusian jails.
00:17Many were arrested after a disputed 2020 election that triggered widespread protests,
00:23according to human rights defenders.
00:25The authoritarian state has released dozens of political prisoners in recent months
00:30in a deal with the United States in exchange for the easing of part of Washington's sanctions.
00:35Belarusian street protest leader Maria Kolesnikova, Nobel Prize winner Aless Vyaliatsky,
00:41as well as dissident activist Nikola Stakevich, figure among the highest profile released in recent months.
00:47U.S. President Donald Trump has sought a rapprochement with Minsk, welcoming it to his Board of Peace,
00:52an alternative which has been criticized as an attempt to weaken the United Nations.
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