Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum and addressed the international community:
“The world should stop thinking of Belarus as some part of Russia. We were part of Europe many centuries before Russia came to Belarus. Respecting and protecting our Belarusian European choice: this must be an integral part of Western policy towards Russia.
Belarusians are against the Russian war in Ukraine. I always say: let’s differentiate between people and the regime. On the one hand, close the loopholes in the sanctions. Freeze his assets abroad. Issue a warrant to arrest Lukashenka for his long record of crimes. On the other hand, help those in exile who fled repressions. Recognize our passport of New Belarus – don’t leave hundreds of thousands of Belarusian people stateless.
I sometimes hear that Belarus is “a lost case”. But Ukraine – and actually – whole Europe – will never be safe, if Belarus remains in Russian claws. Belarus can be a success story. But we have to give people hope. Belarusians want to hear from you that Europe's door is open to Belarus, and that it will not be given as a consolation prize to Putin”.
