Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has warned US President Donald Trump that her Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko may be trying to mislead him through symbolic gestures such as prisoner releases. The Associated Press reports, BTA reports.
Tsikhanovskaya made the statement in an interview with the AP on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly.
Earlier this month, Trump strengthened relations with Lukashenko by lifting some sanctions against Belarus in exchange for the release of political prisoners. The US president stressed that his personal contacts with the Belarusian leader are excellent and that there is very good communication between them, the AP notes.
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who lives in exile after fleeing Belarus due to pressure related to her candidacy in the 2020 presidential election, recalled the repression that followed Lukashenko's sixth term and the largest wave of protests in the country's history.
Although she thanked Trump for the release of political prisoners, she warned the US not to get too carried away by the small number of people that the Belarusian leader is ready to release at the moment.
A total of 51 prisoners were recently released, with Lukashenko having released more than 300 people in the past year.