Belarusian officials released 52 political prisoners from several countries on Thursday after meeting with a U.S. delegation in Minsk earlier this week.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko (R) and U.S. envoy John Coale shake hands while meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Thursday and ahead of the release of 52 political prisoners. Photo by Belarus President Press Service/EPA UPI

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Belarusian officials released 52 political prisoners from several countries on Thursday after meeting with a U.S. delegation in Minsk earlier this week.

The political prisoners include six Lithuanians, two Germans, two Latvians, two Poles, and one each from France and Britain, The Guardian reported.

The remaining 38 political prisoners are Belarus citizens who were released as part of a U.S.-brokered deal.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed gratitude for the release of his nation's citizens.

"No man left behind! 52 prisoners safely crossed the Lithuanian border from Belarus today, leaving behind barbed wire, barred windows and constant fear," Nauseda said in a post on X.

"Among them, which is especially important to me, were six Lithuanians," he continued. "I am deeply grateful to President Donald Trump for their continued efforts to free political prisoners."

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin but seeks improved relations with the United States and other Western nations, according to The New York Times.

Although none of the political prisoners who were released are U.S. citizens, the United States will remove its 2023 sanctions on Belarus' national airline, Belavia.

The United States also might reopen an embassy in the Belarusian capital in Minsk, which the Biden administration closed after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, U.S. envoy John Coale said.

Coale met with Lukashenko on Thursday and presented him with a letter from Trump while announcing the president's intent to lift sanctions on Belarus.

Coale also gave Lukashenko a pair of White House cuff links.

Trump has sought the release of about 1,000 political prisoners since taking office on Jan. 20, which resulted in Thursday's prisoner release.

An earlier prisoner release in June included Belarusian opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky.

The political prisoners held in Belarus include women and face what the United Nations has called "inhumane conditions," according to The New York Times.