Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is in Vienna, where she is participating in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting. She was invited by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the Foreign Minister of Finland, Elina Valtonen. A session on Belarus was held during the visit, where Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya delivered remarks. Only two countries – Ukraine and Belarus – had dedicated side events at the ministerial meeting.
During the main session, ministers and representatives of many countries expressed support for democratic Belarus and condemned the actions of the regime in Minsk.
The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the EU, Kaja Kallas, condemned the Lukashenka regime’s support for Russia’s war and its repression. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Espen Barth Eide, welcomed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s presence and called for continued support of the democratic forces. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, condemned Belarus’ vote at the UN against the resolution on the return of Ukrainian children and welcomed the release of Siarhei Tsikhanouski, calling for freeing all political prisoners. Lithuania condemned Minsk’s hybrid attacks and emphasized the need to support the democratic forces.
A representative of the regime’s Foreign Ministry was present in the hall throughout the session.
On the margins of the meeting, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Luxembourg, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Armenia, as well as with the President and Secretary General of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.
The dedicated Belarus session featured speeches by the Deputy Foreign Ministers of Lithuania, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, as well as Ambassadors of OSCE participating States and State Secretaries of Spain and Canada. The OSCE Group of Friends of Democratic Belarus now includes 30 countries, among them almost all EU member states, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine, and the United States.
