U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, by phone on Friday, Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported Friday.
The call comes as Trump is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska Friday.
Trump himself confirmed the call on Truth Social, writing that the purpose of the call was to thank Lukashenko for releasing 16 political prisoners, and to discuss the potential release of 1,300 more.
Trump did not specify which 16 prisoners had been released, but he may have been referring to the July 2 pardon of 16 prisoners who were accused of various crimes, including “extremism.”
Trump also wrote that he looked forward to meeting Lukashenko in the future.
BELTA reported that the two leaders discussed “the bilateral agenda, regional issues and the situation in hotspots, including Ukraine,” and also that Lukashenko had invited Trump to Minsk, an offer they say was accepted.
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