More than medicine: How a weight-loss drug helped US envoy free prisoners in Belarus | World News

Diplomacy rarely hinges on small talk, but in an unusual backchannel between Washington and Minsk, a casual exchange about weight loss became part of a negotiation that helped secure the release of political prisoners in Belarus. The episode centres on John P. Coale, a senior US envoy with close ties to President Donald Trump, and Belarus’s long-serving leader Alexander Lukashenko, a figure widely criticised for authoritarian rule.According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, the moment unfolded during a dinner where formalities gave way to personal conversation. Lukashenko remarked on Coale’s slimmer appearance and asked whether he had lost weight. Coale said he had, crediting a prescription weight-loss drug, Zepbound, and even shared a brochure from its manufacturer, Eli Lilly. What could have passed as a throwaway comment instead helped loosen a discussion otherwise dominated by sanctions, prisoner lists and political demands.At the time, Belarus was seeking relief from US economic pressure. Lukashenko wanted sanctions eased on key industries and assistance with repairs to his presidential aircraft, which had been delayed by restrictions on parts and servicing. In return, he signalled a willingness to release detainees, a lever his government has long used during periods of diplomatic thaw. Coale later described the approach as distinctly Trumpian: less concerned with optics and more focused on outcomes.The results were tangible. Lukashenko’s government released 123 prisoners in one tranche, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski and opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava. Since Trump’s return to office, Belarus has freed more than 250 detainees from over ten countries, among them at least five American citizens. For families who had spent years campaigning for their relatives’ release, the method mattered less than the fact that the prison doors opened.In parallel, Washington eased certain restrictions. Sanctions were lifted on potash, a major Belarusian export central to global fertiliser markets. The US approved software updates and spare parts from Boeing for the state airline Belavia and signalled support for long-delayed repairs to Lukashenko’s jet. US officials also discussed the possibility of arranging access to Zepbound for the Belarusian leader, a detail that underscored just how personal the channel had become.The story has endured not because a drug bought anyone’s release, but because it illustrates a broader truth about how influence can work. Rapport, personality and the unexpected can matter as much as policy papers. In this case, a conversation about weight loss helped soften the ground for an agreement that returned prisoners to their families. It is a reminder that international politics often turns on human moments, and that sometimes the path to freedom begins in the most unlikely places, over dinner, with a simple question and an honest answer.