Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz called Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after reporting the suicide attempt of Stsiapan Latypau, who tried to slit his throat in the courtroom. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about pressure on political prisoners and torture in prisons. “Stsiapan is a new victim of the regime, and with each day, there are more and more victims. That is why we are talking about the need for decisive action – we have no more time to wait. We call on Austria to support the fourth package of sanctions and to consider the fifth. It is equally important now to help Belarusian civil society”, stated Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Ms.Tsikhanouskaya also thanked Mr. Kurz for bringing up the Belarus crisis in a conversation with Putin after meeting with her in April: “The regime has become toxic even to Russia. I am sure the Kremlin sees that Lukashenka has lost the support of the people and the world community and will never regain it. Therefore, it is now in the interest of all, including Russia, to prevent civil conflict in Belarus”.
Sebastian Kurz asked how Austria could help the Belarusians, apart from sanctions and assistance programmes, and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya invited Austria to take the initiative of holding a high-level International Conference for Resolution of Crisis in Belarus. Mr. Kurz also invited Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to address the European Forum in Austrian Wachau to raise the issue of regional security.
