Paul Moss

Will they be anxious that they've done this?

Will they be nervous about it?

Or because they're all abroad, not that bothered?

Svetlana Tsokhanovskaya.

So why has the US been so keen, apparently, to get political prisoners released in Belarus?

It's not a country Donald Trump has talked much about.

And why would President Lukashenko be happy to free them?

He has, after all, described his political opponents as bandits and opponents of the nation.

We asked Nigel Gould-Davies, a former UK ambassador to Belarus, who's now a Russia and Eurasia analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

It's a very good deal for Lukashenko.

He has released barely 10% of the political prisons that he holds, although he might release more in due course.

And in return, he's got an easing of the biggest and most important U.S.

sanction against his economy.

It's much harder to understand why America is doing this.

This easing of sanctions is likely to reduce global potash prices.

That will perhaps be good for American farmers and also lower consumer prices for agricultural goods.

But

The other point I'd make is that since it's good for Belarus, it's also good for Russia.

And it eases in particular the burden that Russia faces in helping to subsidize the Belarusian economy, which is very dependent on Russia, even as Belarus itself.

continues to provide a large range of very important war-related services to Russia.