The establishment of the group was announced during Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's meeting with the Speaker of the Estonian Parliament, Lauri Hussar. The group includes representatives from both the ruling parties and the opposition. The group's immediate plans include hearings on Belarus, a resolution on Belarus regarding the placement of nuclear weapons, and a parliamentary visit to devise a working strategy on Belarus. During the meeting with the Speaker, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya talked about cooperation between democratic Belarus and Estonia, a European perspective for Belarus, and Belarus's role in the regional security system.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also met with the leader of the Friends of Belarus group,, Urmas Reinsalu. They discussed ways to effectively pressure the regime, assistance to Belarusians in Estonia regarding migration and residency permits, the issue of nuclear weapons placement, accountability for the regime over its crimes against Belarusians, and Lukashenka's involvement in the war.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya commented on the outcomes of the meetings: “This is my first visit to Tallinn after the elections. The government has changed, the Parliament has changed, but the support for Belarus has not. The Belarusian issue unites all political parties. I am glad that Urmas Reinsalu has become the leader of the parliamentary group – our friend who has been a prominent advocate for our interests in the world. Thanks to him, the Belarusian issue was raised in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly. Our cooperation has allowed us to ease migration restrictions for Belarusians and enable students to continue their studies in the country. I believe we have a close and fruitful cooperation ahead of us”.
