Latest news with #SergeyTikhanovsky
Russia Today
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Trump official reveals vodka drinking at negotiations in Minsk
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. 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.
Russia Today
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Trump official reveals ‘vodka diplomacy' during talks with key Russian ally
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. 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.
CNN
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘They didn't break me': Belarusian opposition figure speaks out after time in prison
Sergey Tikhanovsky, a Belarusian dissident who was freed after five years in detention and the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, joins CNN's Jim Sciutto to discuss and share details about his time in prison.
CNN
28-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘They didn't break me': Belarusian opposition figure speaks out after time in prison
Sergey Tikhanovsky, a Belarusian dissident who was freed after five years in detention and the husband of exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, joins CNN's Jim Sciutto to discuss and share details about his time in prison.
22-06-2025
- Politics
Belarus Frees 14 Prisoners Including 2 Japanese Nationals
News from Japan World Jun 22, 2025 12:19 (JST) Tokyo, June 22 (Jiji Press)--Belarus has freed 14 prisoners including two Japanese nationals, as well as opposition figure Sergey Tikhanovsky, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency and other media outlets citing a spokesperson for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. One of the Japanese citizens is believed to be Masatoshi Nakanishi, who lives in the southeastern state of Gomel and teaches Japanese at a national university there. Nakanishi was detained in July last year, including for allegedly taking a photo of a railway. In March, a local court sentenced him to seven years in prison for espionage. The other Japanese national was detained last December for allegedly photographing an overpass on a main road. The freed prisoners also include Polish, Latvian, Estonian, Swedish and U.S. citizens. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
