Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya had a meeting with US Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Murphy and Rob Portman in Vilnius.
At the meeting, the Belarusian leader:
– thanked the senators for close work with the Belarusian diaspora to ensure that Belarus was on the agenda in the United States;
– thanked the United States for active steps in helping Belarusians, including the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act;
– emphasized: the latest events in Belarus have shown that Lukashenka is a threat not only to Belarusian, but also to international security;
– urged the United States to support the consideration of the Belarusian crisis in the UN Security Council, which will be initiated by Estonia as the chairman of the organization since June;
– received an invitation to visit Washington and to speak in the US Senate;
– discussed the G7 summit in London and the future meeting of Biden and Putin in Geneva;
– called for a clear signal to Russia that any agreements signed with the illegitimate Lukashenka will be revised or canceled;
– urged to initiate and organize an international conference on resolution of the crisis in Belarus;
– urged the United States to support the EU's steps to provide economic support for a democratic Belarus;
– suggested organizing a faction in the US Congress to support Belarus;
– urged to develop programs to support political prisoners, repressed Belarusians, free media, as well as create a Belarusian service in the media “Voice of America”.
“For the first time, the international community has felt the disrespect for norms, disrespect for human lives and dignity in the style of Lukashenka. The Belarusians have been living in this systematic violence every day for a year. A stronger reaction is needed, which would adequately correspond to the scale of Lukashenka's crimes,” stated Sviatlana Tsikhanovskaya.
