The Council of Europe decided to establish a Contact Group for cooperation with Belarusian society. In this way, the Council of Europe adopted Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's proposal, voiced at her meetings with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and during her address to the PACE.
Earlier, the Council of Europe renounced contacts with representatives of the illegitimate regime in favor of democratic forces and civil society. This is a clear signal to Belarusians that the Council of Europe does not recognize the Lukashenka regime. At the same time, the Council intends to cooperate with representatives of the democratic movement in the interests of the people of Belarus.
The newly formed Contact Group will help the Council of Europe formulate its positions on Belarus. The Contact Group is also expected to coordinate and implement projects within the framework of various programs of the Council of Europe, as well as elaborate projects of reforms and democratic transformations for the new Belarus.
The Contact Group will include representatives of Council of Europe structures, Belarusian civil society and democratic forces. The composition of the Contact Group is yet to be discussed.
Alexander Shlyk, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Special Representative on Elections, commented on the decision: “So far, the Council of Europe, like other international organizations, has worked with countries through their governments, coordinating and making decisions with them. From now on, the Council of Europe will cooperate exclusively with the democratic forces and civil society of Belarus”.
