"Lukashenka likes to swear, you swear back. And I poured vodka on the floor." Cole spoke about visits to Minsk

He shared details of feasts with Alexander Lukashenka, who likes to swear, as well as details of the release of political prisoners and contacts with Belarusian democratic forces. John Cole's account is provided by "Zerkalo" (Mirror).

Obscenities and eight toasts

John Cole began his story with recollections of how he became a special envoy and how his first trip to Minsk went. To find common ground with Alexander Lukashenka, he had to adapt to his specific manner of communication:

— It all started with a phone call... At the time, I was Deputy Envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict to General [Keith] Kellogg. I get a call: "Will you go to Belarus?" I ask: "Where is Belarus?" Then I say: "Okay, it's for the release of American prisoners." And I ask: "Well, when should I go?" They answer: "Tomorrow." And I went. I met Lukashenka, and he talks a lot. Many of these guys who have been in power for 30 years like to talk. The State Department told me he likes to "chat and laugh," so we chatted. After about half an hour – forty-five minutes – I'm trying to figure out what kind of person he is. He starts complaining about the Europeans...

This will sound crude, and I apologize for the language, but I told him: "Yeah, they're a bunch of pussies." (original: «*Yeah, they’re a bunch of pussies*»). And from that moment, he was in my pocket. He likes to swear, so you swear back. And we got along great. We sat for five hours, and he kept talking.

Павялічыць

Then there was a two-hour lunch. He stands up (of course, there's vodka on the table), raises a toast to President Trump. The guys from the State Department signal me: "You have to drink to him." I stand up and deliver a reciprocal toast. And then these endless toasts began. And I can't get hammered. Of course, a couple of guys from the State Department drank all eight toasts and were wasted. I learned to do this: I watched Lukashenka's eyes as he looked around the company, and when he wasn't looking at me, I just poured the vodka on the floor. In the end, I only drank two shots, which was more than enough.

I return to the States, and right before leaving [Minsk], I make a deal with Lukashenka: "Why don't we do it again?" As a result, I worked with Chris Smith (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Eastern Europe), we organized everything and arranged for new releases. <…> That time I got 14 people out.

"Find me this Lukashenka"

The key turning point that led to further mass releases, John Cole calls Donald Trump's personal involvement. Upon learning of the first successes in negotiations and the release of political prisoners, the US President insisted on an immediate phone call with Lukashenka.

— We were having dinner with President Trump. My wife is Greta Van Susteren. She has been on [television] for 30 years. President Trump was her business expert many years ago, that's how we met. So, we're having dinner, and Greta mentions what I did. He says: "What? What are you talking about?" I tell the whole story. And he replies: "I want to talk to this guy! Get me the number." The next day I go into the Oval Office with the number. Suzy Wiles (White House Chief of Staff. — Ed.'s note) and [Marco] Rubio (US Secretary of State. — Ed.'s note) are there. Trump wants everything done immediately and says: "Connect me with him, find me this Lukashenka." They panic: we don't have a translator, this isn't coordinated. I go up to Marco [Rubio] and say: "Listen, let's do this tomorrow." And that was the day he was flying to Alaska for a meeting with Putin. President Trump says: "I'll call from Air Force One." I go to the Situation Room, we connect with Lukashenka. They had a great conversation, they became best buddies, and it helped a lot, a lot.

Павялічыць

— After the call from Air Force One, I return to Belarus and get another 52 people out. But what's very important is that I have almost complete support from the president. And this is Trump's signature style of doing business: build relationships, no preconditions, just sit down at the negotiating table. If you have preconditions, it's assumed you'll argue about them for six years. So — just sit down at the table. That's exactly what I did at his direction.

"Everything is done in the forest there"

Describing the release process itself, the diplomat spoke about the procedure for transferring people at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border:

— One thing happened that justifies all the efforts: they were in a van, everything is done in the forest there by their State Security Committee. You drive from Lithuania to Belarus, you enter the forest, they change numbers and arrange other spy tricks. A van pulls up, 14 people inside. When I opened the door, they were all sitting like this [crouched]. Later I found out: they thought they were being taken for execution. I open the door and say: "You are free." No reaction. Many of them spoke English. I repeat: "You are free." One guy looked up, but still silence. They thought it was a trap. Then I said: "I am here on behalf of the President of the United States, Donald Trump." And they all raised their heads like this. I said: "You are truly free." The expressions on their faces were priceless.

Cole also named the main principle of the Trump administration: sanctions are lifted proportionally to the number of people released:

— What you must understand: almost 80% of our sanctions against Belarus were imposed because of political prisoners. Therefore, the idea has always been this: you give us prisoners, we give you sanctions relief in various proportions. The last time we were there in December, we got another 123 people out. And one of them was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (referring to Ales Bialiatski). Suddenly Lukashenka pulls me aside and says he will release this person.

"Can you stop this shit?"

In addition to releasing people, Cole mentioned that he uses his direct access to Lukashenka to resolve regional problems in relations between Belarus and EU countries:

— I meet with the Belarusian Ambassador to the UN [Valiantsin Rybakou] approximately once a week or two. Now Lithuania and Poland are included in the process. We need to seek their cooperation. I went to Lukashenka and said: "Can you stop launching these crappy balloons? They create terrible problems." And the balloons stopped. Then something else arises with Poland, and I have to go to Lukashenka again and say: "Can you stop this shit?" In any case, I am very optimistic that by the end of the year we will get everyone [political prisoners] out.

Павялічыць

Cole also said that he asked representatives of the Belarusian democratic forces to lower the degree of criticism so as not to derail further negotiations:

— I am in a fortunate position because my relationship with Lukashenka works. And now I talk a lot with the opposition. But I tell them one thing: "Listen, you want to go out, shout, and be indignant — I understand all that. You want to talk about how bad he is. But keep it at a certain level, because we still have 800-900 people there, and if you make him too angry, everything will fall apart." I am in contact with them, we have good relations, they understand this.

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