Coale visit to Minsk viewed positively by Baranovas but called a fiasco by Pavilionis

Lithuanian politicians offered differing assessments of a meeting between U.S. special envoy John Coale and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that resulted in the release of political prisoners and the easing of U.S. sanctions.

Speaking on LRT television’s Dienos tema program, Foreign Affairs Committee deputy chair Ruslanas Baranovas praised the outcome as a positive step, highlighting the release of prisoners and the return of detained trucks to Lithuania. He noted that the diplomatic efforts of both Lithuania and the United States had yielded tangible results.

“I think we should start by saying that I definitely see this process in a positive light and the release of prisoners,” Baranovas said. “Most people who have spoken with the released prisoners can only speak positively. Another positive aspect is that most of the prisoners were actually released and are now in Belarus—only 15 arrived in Lithuania. And we saw the news about the trucks. So I think we should look at this positively—the diplomatic work of both Lithuania and the U.S. has produced positive results.”

Foreign Affairs Committee deputy chair Žygimantas Pavilionis, however, criticized the meeting as a failure, arguing that it legitimized Lukashenko’s regime. He warned that such engagement could embolden Lukashenko, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the war against Ukraine.

“I don’t see this as representing our interests,” Pavilionis said. “The process is being viewed through Lukashenko’s lens, helping to legitimize him. I’ve seen this for decades—our ministers and leaders have done it, and they’ve all been deceived, disappointed, while such steps only consolidate the dictatorship. Lukashenko is now entrenching himself among world leaders and may soon receive an invitation to Washington. It would be absurd if he visits the White House before representatives of our government do.”

Baranovas acknowledged that while the meeting took place, he did not consider it a major issue. He reaffirmed Lithuania’s position in favor of extending sanctions and noted that promises had been made regarding the return of detained trucks, though he expressed caution given past experiences with Lukashenko.

“I don’t think it’s normal, but it’s not a huge tragedy,” Baranovas said. “They met—that’s it. I don’t know what they discussed, but Lithuania’s position remains very clear. We were among those advocating for the extension of sanctions, and we succeeded. Today, we’ve been promised the return of the trucks that have been detained for a long time by the Lukashenko regime. We’ll see if that promise is kept, as dealing with Lukashenko is unpredictable.”

Baranovas also dismissed suggestions of internal divisions in Lithuania’s foreign policy, stating that statements by different officials reflect complementary rather than conflicting approaches.

“If Budrys speaks about sanctions while the prime minister talks about working with the Americans, these are two parts of the same foreign policy,” he said. “Sometimes these things are exaggerated, and people look for disagreements where they don’t exist, except perhaps in semantics.”