Today in Vilnius Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya and Ms. González Laya already met at the end of last year during the working visit of the democratic leader of Belarus to Spain.
At the meeting Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
– thanked Spain for its support and solidarity, for the Spanish Parliament's adoption of the resolution on Belarus, for the imposition of sanctions against the regime, and keeping Belarus on the EU agenda;
– spoke about the current situation in Belarus, the ongoing repressions, including repressions against believers, as well as the inhumane conditions of detention and imprisonment;
– urged Spain to support negotiations with international mediation as a peaceful solution of the crisis in Belarus. As for today, over 770,000 Belarusians have voted for inclusive dialogue;
– called the Minister to support the fourth package of sanctions against Lukashenka's “wallets” and representatives of the regime who participated in rigging elections and repressions against the people;
– called for assistance to repressed Belarusians, human rights defenders, independent media, students, and researchers. In a conversation with the Minister was discussed the possibility of abolishing EU visas for Belarusians;
– discussed with Ms. González Laya, the organization of an expert discussion on the topic of negotiations at the Elcano Royal Institute.
“I am amazed that Spain takes such a clear, principled position on Belarus and constantly monitors the situation. Spain supports Belarusians both in the EU and in international structures. At a meeting with the minister, we talked about how to help the Belarusians now and how to help after the changes,” – Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said.
