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

A casual chat about weight loss between a US envoy and Belarus’s leader, Alexander Lukashenko, unexpectedly paved the way for releasing over 120 political prisoners. The personal exchange, involving a prescription drug, helped break the ice for crucial negotiations on sanctions relief and prisoner swaps, ultimately reuniting families and easing US restrictions on key Belarusian exports.