Trump Appoints John Coale as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs

AP

U.S. Presidential envoy John Coale, right, walks in front of journalists outside the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that lawyer and current Belarus envoy John Coale, who has been credited with securing the release of hundreds of prisoners, would serve as his special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned ⁠15 prisoners last month after talks with Coale, who has been talking to Minsk for more than a year.

"John has already secured the return of over 65 Americans and Allied Citizens from Belarus over the last year, and negotiated the ‌release ⁠of more than 800 political prisoners from multiple countries in Eastern Europe," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Coale will replace ⁠Adam Boehler, who Trump said had brought back 196 hostages. Boehler, who in August helped to secure ⁠the release of a former American marine from Russia, will continue to ⁠assist in other matters as a senior adviser, Trump added.

Source: Reuters



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