Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked Tobias Billström for organizing the Stockholm Conference on Belarus. “The level of organization and such high-level participants prove that Belarus remains on the agenda of Sweden and Europe. Many practical strategic ideas were mentioned, and now we have to implement them together”.
The conference was held in Chatham format, without media and live broadcasting. The event was attended by diplomats, politicians, activists, and experts — more than 150 people from over 20 countries in total.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked the minister for increasing Swedish aid to Belarus, which benefits independent media, human rights defenders, cultural initiatives, students, and the private sector. Overall, it has grown by more than 26% over the past year. Sweden has also allocated an extra 430,000 euros for the rehabilitation of the repressed and former political prisoners.
Sweden has also simplified the legalization of stay for Belarusians. From now on, Swedish documents can be obtained with an expired Belarusian passport. Moreover, the country has changed its assessment of Belarus — it is no longer considered safe (previously this was a reason for denying legalization of stay to Belarusians).
A few days ago, Mr. Billström and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya co-authored an op-ed stating that support for Belarus has been and will remain a priority in Sweden’s foreign policy.
The parties discussed joint efforts during the UN General Assembly and the ministerial meeting of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8 includes five Scandinavian and three Baltic countries). Ms. Tsikhanouskaya asked the minister to urge other countries to make contributions to the international humanitarian fund to support the repressed established recently in Norway.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the situation with Palina Sharenda-Panasiuk, the confiscation of exiled Belarusians’ property, criminal cases against Coordination Council candidates, and the situation with Swedish citizen Halina Krasnianskaya, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison in Belarus.
Separately, the politicians discussed pressure on the regime, including restrictions on potassium fertilizers exports and sanctions against those involved in repression and companies supplying military equipment to Russia. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya mentioned the recent BELpol investigation revealing such companies.
The Belarusian leader expressed the concerns of Belarusians in Sweden regarding the legalization of stay and called on the Swedish authorities to suspend the requirement of apostilles and documents that cannot be obtained without returning to Belarus.
Mr. Billström and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed more scholarships for Belarusians, support for media and cultural initiatives, programs for Belarusian youth, and courses on public administration and diplomacy for representatives of democratic forces.
“I am grateful to Sweden, the Swedish government, and Riksdag for supporting change in Belarus. In fact, Sweden is an example of a principled and consistent policy and our reliable ally”, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya emphasized.
Special Envoy of Sweden for the democratic forces of Belarus and former Ambassador to Belarus, Christina Johannesson, also participated in the meeting.
