On November 12, on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Dublin, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
She thanked Italy for supporting a free Belarus and Ukraine and defending European interests and values.
“We Belarusians are Europeans too, and we greatly value Italy’s role. We are connected not only by shared values but also by a shared future. Many Belarusians live in Italy, where an active diaspora and a Belarusian center have been established. For decades, Italian families have welcomed Belarusian children for recuperation. And today, Italy continues to support our struggle for freedom. We will not forget that”, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya noted.
The war in Ukraine and the future of European security were also key topics of the meeting. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stressed that peace must be just and lasting. A new division of Europe into spheres of influence, which would leave Belarus under Russian control, must not be allowed.
“We must not give in to dictators’ demands. Europe must set clear conditions and stand firm in defending its principles. Belarus must not become a bargaining chip in negotiations. Without an independent Belarus, there can be no lasting peace or security in our region”, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stressed.
She welcomed US humanitarian efforts to secure the release of political prisoners and called for continued support for this process. At the same time, she stressed that securing the release of individual prisoners is not enough: all political prisoners must be freed, and repression in Belarus must end.
