Trump Belarus fertilizer deal 'very risky', opposition says

Belarus's exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya warned Monday that a possible US fertilizer deal with President Alexander Lukashenko's government would be “very risky” after US President Donald Trump said Washington was working on a large potash purchase from Belarus.

Trump said on Truth Social that the United States was working on a “massive” deal to buy potash from Belarus, a Russian ally. He said the price would be substantially lower than what the United States pays Canada and called it good news for farmers and ranchers.

Potash is a chemical salt used to make fertilizer. The United States imports most of its potash. In 2024, 79 percent of US potash imports came from Canada, 11 percent from Russia and 4 percent from Belarus, according to the US Geological Survey.

Tikhanovskaya told AFP that it was not time to trade with Lukashenko's government while income from potash goes to repression and support for Russia's war effort. She said, however, that she believed Americans “know who Lukashenko is.”

The comments come as Washington pursues dialogue with Minsk despite Belarus's repression of dissidents and its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Trump has also intensified a trade dispute with Canada, a long-term US ally and top trading partner.

Last week, Belarus freed 25 political prisoners as the United States lifted sanctions on two Belarusian companies. Hundreds of people remain imprisoned after Lukashenko, in power since 1994, suppressed mass protests against his re-election in 2020.

Western countries also imposed sanctions on Belarus in 2022 after Minsk allowed Moscow to invade Ukraine through Belarusian territory.