Diplomatic success

Lukashenko now also releases US citizen

President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned over 250 people in the past few months.(Bild: APA/AP)

Following the return to his home country of a US citizen who had been imprisoned in Russia for years, the Belarusian government has now also released a US citizen.

In addition to the American, whose identity has not been disclosed, two "political prisoners" from Belarus have also regained their freedom. The release of "these three hostages" is a great success, said the US ambassador to Lithuania, Kara McDonald, to CNN on Wednesday.

The release of Marc Fogel from Russian custody was celebrated in the White House.(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Al Drago)

Belarusian journalist Andrej Kusnetschyk was also released from prison in his home country on Wednesday, according to opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's team. 

President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned over 250 people in the past few months.(Bild: APA/AP)

Prisoners brought to Lithuania
Chris Smith, the diplomat responsible for Eastern Europe at the US State Department, said that the three prisoners had been taken to Lithuania after their release. "We will continue our work until all the Americans are released," he added. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned more than 250 people in recent months. These amnesties are seen as an attempt to polish up relations with the West.

On Tuesday, US citizen Marc Fogel was released from Russian custody and returned to the USA. In return, Washington agreed to the release of Alexander Vinnik, a Russian accused of money laundering using cryptocurrencies in the USA. Fogel had worked as a teacher at a US school in Moscow. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison the following year for drug smuggling because marijuana and cannabis oil were found in his luggage during a customs inspection at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.