Although Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe, the organization made an exception and invited Ms. Tsikhanouskaya as a special guest.
The Summit may be the key Council of Europe meeting of the decade as the previous one was held in Warsaw in 2005. Heads or representatives of 46 states are expected to attend the summit, including Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Rishi Sunak, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as EU leaders Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen. Sviatlana Tsikahnouskaya will take part in the main events of the two-day summit, during which a number of meetings are planned.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya will discuss accelerating Belarus' accession to the Council of Europe, expanding the Contact Group between the Council of Europe and a democratic Belarus, supporting the repressed and Belarusian refugees, preventing Russia from absorbing Belarus, and involving the Council of Europe in this.
