Vans believed to be carrying freed political prisoners from Belarus were seen driving into U.S. embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania on Thursday evening.

Belarus freed 52 political prisoners on Thursday, as the United States announced it was lifting sanctions on the isolated country’s national airline.

Belarus, a close ally of Russia, has been repeatedly slapped with Western sanctions both for its crackdown on human rights and allowing Moscow to use its territory in the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Its president, Alexander Lukashenko, has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and hundreds of people, including dissidents, opposition figures and journalists, are behind bars.

But for more than a year, Lukashenko has sought to mend ties with the West in the hopes of easing the sanctions and the country’s international isolation. He has regularly released prisoners as a way to win favor.