During the Aspen Security Forum, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya took part in the panel discussion “Continental Drift? Europe in Transition”. The Aspen Security Forum is one of the leading international platforms on national security and foreign policy, bringing together political leaders, government officials, representatives of international organisations, experts, and journalists each year to discuss key global challenges in a non-partisan setting.
Other speakers included:
- Belén Martínez Carbonell, Secretary General of the European External Action Service;
- Theo Francken, Minister of Defense and Foreign Trade of Belgium;
- David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security of the Netherlands.
The discussion was moderated by Peter Spiegel of The Washington Post.
In her remarks, Tsikhanouskaya stressed that Europe’s security is inseparable from Belarus’s future and urged policymakers to view Belarus not only as a humanitarian issue but also as a security challenge:
“We must start looking at Belarus differently. We must see Belarus not only as a humanitarian case but also through the lens of security. As long as Lukashenka serves Russia, he is willing to offer our territory and infrastructure for attacks against Ukraine and, potentially, NATO countries.
They are building new infrastructure that would not exist unless the country were preparing for escalation. Unless we get rid of this regime, the threat emanating from Belarus will remain constant.
A democratic and free Belarus is in the interests not only of Belarusians and Ukrainians but also of all Europeans”.
