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

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.

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.