Trump says he is working on a U.S. deal to buy potash from Belarus

U.S. President Donald Trump said that U.S. authorities are working on a large-scale deal to purchase potash fertilizers from Belarus. He said that such supplies would cost Washington less than buying fertilizers in Canada and should be beneficial for American farmers and livestock producers.

In response, Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, said that the country would not be able to supply potash fertilizers to Western markets because all volumes have already been contracted. «People are shouting here: ‘Ah, potash!’ Even if we wanted to send it somewhere to other markets, Western markets, we simply do not have those volumes, everything is contracted», he said.

In December last year, U.S. authorities announced the lifting of sanctions on Belarusian potash. At the same time, Washington lifted restrictions against the airline Belavia, Belinvestbank, and the Development Bank of Belarus.

In exchange, Lukashenko pardoned hundreds of political prisoners. Among them were Belarusian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, former presidential candidate in Belarus Viktor Babariko, one of the leaders of the 2020 protests in Belarus Maria Kolesnikova, and Belarusian politician Sergei Tikhanovsky.

Sources

• Novaya Gazeta Europe