As the BelTA news agency clarifies, the sum in question is $43–44 million, which was received by Belarus as payment from a company with which it had been cooperating.
As the publication notes, on 11 September, during a meeting with journalists, Lukashenko referred to this money and suggested “repaying the debt”. He described the freezing of the funds as “a disgrace for the US” and pointed out that Minsk intends to “negotiate more serious matters” in the future.
In response, the US Special Envoy for Belarus, John Cole, stated during talks with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on 15 September that Minsk’s demand was entirely justified. Consequently, the US had approached Citibank to unfreeze and return Belarus’s assets.
“I fully, absolutely support your demands. In fact, you are absolutely right. This money must be unfrozen and returned. We have asked the bank to unfreeze these funds. We are currently working out a mechanism for how to do this. As soon as we receive a specific response from the bank, we will inform you immediately,” BelTA quotes the American diplomat as saying.
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