On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the new Prime Minister of Slovenia, Janez Janša, who returned to office in June 2026, beginning his fourth term as prime minister.
Mr. Janša and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya previously met in Ljubljana in 2021, when he was also serving as Slovenia’s Prime Minister. Their further meetings occurred on the sidelines of international events. In 2021, including during Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, Mr. Janša publicly spoke out in support of political prisoners and victims of repression in Belarus.
During their latest meeting, the parties addressed the security situation in Belarus and the region, the Lukashenka regime’s dependence on Russia, and the militarization of Belarus. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya proposed organizing a briefing with BELPOL on the Belarus–Russia military infrastructure and other current security threats.
Janez Janša and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya discussed the release and support of political prisoners. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about international efforts to secure their release, stressing that aid should be prepared in advance for people leaving prison. She proposed that Slovenia consider making a new contribution to the International Humanitarian Fund that supports the repressed in Belarus, as well as establishing rehabilitation programs in Slovenia for former political prisoners and their families.
The meeting also addressed support for the Belarusian diaspora, independent media, and people affected by repression, as well as the possibility of a group “For a Democratic Belarus” in the Slovenian Parliament and a special representative for relations with Belarus’s democratic forces.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Mr. Janša for his support for Belarusians in 2021 and Slovenia for its consistent support for Belarus’s civil society, democratic forces, and independent media over the last few years.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Janez Janša knows firsthand what political persecution and imprisonment are like. For Belarusians, it is truly important to have allies who understand this not only as a political issue but also as a personal human experience. I am grateful to Slovenia for its support and hope that we can expand it, especially for political prisoners, those who have been released, and their families”.
