The Honoroble Radosław Sikorski
Minister of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland
Dear Mr. Sikorski,
On behalf of the Belarus Democratic Forum, we respectfully invite you to consider submitting an official nomination of U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Special Envoy John P. Coale for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Such a nomination would recognize exceptional and results-oriented leadership in addressing one of Europe’s most persistent humanitarian and security crises: mass political repression in Belarus, the release of political prisoners, and the neutralization of hybrid threats that for years have destabilized the European Union’s eastern border, particularly affecting Poland.
Few European leaders understand the nature of Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime better than Poland, and few policymakers more personally than yourself. Your engagement with Belarus did not begin in 2020; it reaches back at least to the aftermath of the 2010 presidential elections, when the regime once again demonstrated that repression, imprisonment, and coercion were its primary instruments of governance. Over more than a decade, Polish diplomacy has dealt with Lukashenko not in theory, but in practice, through sanctions, prisoner negotiations, migration crises, and direct security challenges.
It is precisely this experience that gives Poland, and your voice, exceptional authority when effectiveness, rather than intention, is assessed.
Between 2024 and 2025, 75 Nobel Peace Prize laureates issued four separate appeals to world leaders, calling for decisive action to secure the release of Belarusian political prisoners. President Trump was the only world leader who responded directly and translated those appeals into concrete action. We respectfully ask you to support the spirit of these Nobel laureates’ appeals, which urged governments to join efforts that could deliver real and immediate humanitarian results.
We also wish to acknowledge your personal leadership in 2024, when you became the first European statesman to support and operationalize the “Ultimatum” approach toward the Belarusian regime. This decision marked a turning point. It demonstrated that firm, unambiguous pressure, rather than procedural diplomacy, could produce results. Hundreds of political prisoners regained their freedom, and migration pressure on Poland’s border was significantly reduced.
Regrettably, the subsequent lack of sustained pressure meant that this momentum was not brought to its logical conclusion. The opportunity to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience as early as 2024 was missed, as political will across Europe gradually weakened.
Where European diplomacy ultimately hesitated, President Trump acted decisively. On 15 August 2025, following a direct request from the Belarus Democratic Forum and the appeals of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, he established direct contact with the Belarusian authorities at the very first attempt. This engagement, supported by the legal expertise and negotiation framework developed by Special Envoy John P. Coale, resulted in the release of more than 300 political prisoners. This intervention achieved more for justice, regional security, and humanitarian relief than years of stalled negotiations.
We respectfully encourage you to approach this decision pragmatically. In the year of the 250th Anniversary of the United States, a Nobel Peace Prize nomination from Poland would carry exceptional moral and political weight. It would signal that Europe recognizes and values leadership that delivers results, especially when those results save lives, reunite families, and reduce instability along the EU’s borders.
Formal recognition of these achievements would also help restore momentum toward the release of all remaining prisoners of conscience and support the safe return of approximately 500,000 Belarusian refugees, contributing to long-term stability across the region.
Thank you for your principled attention to this matter and for Poland’s enduring commitment to freedom, security, and human dignity.
With highest consideration,
Dr. Valery Tsepkalo
Founder and CEO, Belarus Hi-Tech Park, Ambassador of Belarus to the United States (1997–2002), Former First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Candidate, 2020
Dmitry Bolkunets
Secretary General, Belarus Democratic Forum