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CNN's Dana Bash was in disbelief Wednesday when Trump administration officials said Belarus released an American hostage and two others without asking for anything in return.
Bash interviewed Chris Smith, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Eastern Europe, and Kara McDonald, ambassador to Lithuania, from the U.S. embassy compound in Vilnius, Lithuania.
"These are usually not one-sided deals," Bash began. "What did Belarus get in exchange for this? These three people, these three...individuals gaining their freedom?"
Ambassador McDonald said, "This was a unilateral gesture by the Lukashenko authorities. They made this gesture because they are responding through what Adam pointed out, which is the president's 'peace through strength' agenda. They're responding to strength. They're looking to improve ties. This was a gesture on their side."
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McDonald continued, "It's important to note here that this is four releases we've had in less than a month of the administration. It's quite extraordinary. It's really a very rare thing. We work sometimes for years to get people out. I've personally worked on one of these cases for a number of years, and, so, to see this person come out of Belarusian prison is quite extraordinary."
Bash circled back to the question of Belarusian altruism.
"I'm just going to, maybe, color me a skeptic that Lukashenko is somebody who just does something out of the goodness of his heart," Bash said. "There was nothing that he got at all?"
"As I said, he didn't get anything for this exchange," McDonald repeated. " They are looking to improve their ties with us, and they're making smart choices by releasing these Americans and other political prisoners in order to open a political dialog with our side."
Adam Boehler, the U.S. hostage affairs envoy, said the Belarusian actions won't go unnoticed.
"The president of the United States notices these things because he's made it a priority to get Americans home," Boehler said. "It is a way for him to notice. So these deals are not done with conditions, this deal was done unilaterally. But it doesn't also mean that we don't see and appreciate when our citizens come home."
On Tuesday night, President Trump welcomed home U.S. teacher Marc Fogel who was released from a Russian prison and flown home via private plane. Trump announced Wednesday that he had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the war in Ukraine.
English (US)