ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that he is nominating lawyer John Coale as special envoy to Belarus, citing his success in negotiating hostage releases.

"I am pleased to announce that John Coale, Esq., known as one of our Country's truly GREAT lawyers ... is being nominated as the United States Special Envoy to Belarus," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said Coale "has already successfully negotiated the release of 100 hostages, and is going for an additional 50."

He thanked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko in advance "for his consideration on the release of these additional people."

Coale has played a pivotal role in US-Belarus diplomatic efforts during Trump's second term and spearheaded negotiations that led to the release of 52 prisoners in September.

In August, Trump and Lukashenko held a phone conversation discussing bilateral issues and regional affairs.

Following that call, Trump said he had "a wonderful talk with the highly respected president of Belarus" and thanked him for releasing prisoners while discussing "the release of 1,300 additional prisoners."

Lukashenko, meanwhile, invited Trump and his family to Minsk, and the invitation was accepted, according to reports from the Belarus state-run BeltA news.