TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has pardoned 31 Ukrainians jailed in Belarus on criminal offences, it was reported on Saturday, the latest step in Minsk’s effort to thaw relations with the West.

They were released “as a gesture of goodwill”, in accordance with agreements reached between Lukashenko and U.S. President Donald Trump at Ukraine’s request, Belarusian state agency Belta said, citing Lukashenko’s spokesperson, Natalia Eismont. Those freed were handed over to Kyiv, according to the report.

Earlier this week, Lukashenko pardoned two jailed Catholic priests at the request of the Vatican.

Belarus, Russia’s close and dependent ally, has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory to send troops and tanks into Ukraine, and later to place nuclear weapons there. Moscow and Kyiv have also conducted prisoner swaps on Belarusian land.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron first for over 30 years, has recently tried to repair relations with the West. Weeks after a phone call with Trump in August, he pardoned 51 political prisoners under a U.S.-brokered deal that saw some sanctions lifted from the country’s national airline, Belavia.