MOSCOW

US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy for Belarus John Coale said Thursday that Washington decided to lift sanctions on fertilizer producer company Belaruskali, the Ministry of Finance of Belarus, and several other organizations.

"The US is lifting sanctions against Belinvestbank, the Development Bank, and the Ministry of Finance. The US has also made a decision to remove two Belarusian companies, the Belarusian Potash Company and Belaruskali, from all sanctions lists," he said at a media briefing in Minsk.

Coale noted that this time, sanctions would be lifted "significantly faster."

"We have learned to do this more quickly. Before visiting Minsk, we held extensive negotiations with the Ministry of Finance and other US agencies involved in the application of sanctions," he added.

Negotiations between Coale and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko took place earlier Thursday at the Palace of Independence.

Following the meeting, Lukashenko’s office announced that he granted pardons to 250 prisoners, at least 15 of whom had worked for opposition media and were called "political prisoners" in the West. Fifteen left for Lithuania, the rest stayed in Belarus, according to Belarusian media.