Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, Belarus’s autocratic president and Russia’s closest ally, has taken steps to soften his country’s isolation from the West.

Belarusian authorities have released an imprisoned U.S. citizen, a Belarusian journalist for a U.S.-funded media outlet and an opposition supporter in an apparent attempt to repair ruptured ties with Washington.

An American is one of three hostages released from Belarus, the White House has announced. The identity of the hostage has not been released as the person wishes to remain private, U.S. Envoy for Hostages Adam Boehler said.

U.S. officials say Belarus has released three people, including an American and a journalist, who’d been detained for more than three years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is proposing an exchange of seized territory with Russia as part of any potential negotiations to end the war. Ukraine holds control of a small pocket of Russian territory, parts of Kursk Oblast, captured during a surprise incursion in August. Zelensky, in an interview with The Guardian, said he planned to…

Andrey Kuznechyk, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was one of those released from a Belarusian prison after more than three years. The released American has not been named publicly.