Belarus has released three detainees including a veteran journalist for a US government-funded broadcaster and a US citizen, the White House said on Wednesday.
Chris Smith, the deputy assistant secretary of state for eastern European affairs, described a “special operation” in which he and other US officials “crossed into the Belarusian frontier [and] went into Minsk to meet with Belarusian counterparts who brought these three detainees to us”.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed the release on Wednesday of three people including “one American and two individuals from Belarus, one of whom worked for Radio Liberty”.
The US ambassador to Lithuania, Kara McDonald, speaking on CNN from Vilnius, described the release as “a big day for team America, for the president, for the secretary of state”, adding “we just welcomed them [the detainees] here a few minutes ago.”.
The release of detainees from Belarus comes after American schoolteacher Marc Fogel was released by Russia after three and a half years in prison.
