During the Warsaw Security Forum, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with international partners to discuss the Russian threat, support for Ukraine, the release of political prisoners, and the protection of Belarusians in exile facing persecution.
Speeches
At the panel “The Democratic Front: Leadership Against Russian Authoritarianism”, alongside former Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, fifth President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili, and Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about Belarus’s European future, the importance of Ukraine’s victory for the region, and the need to withdraw Russian troops and nuclear weapons from Belarus. She also urged democratic partners to be prepared for change in Belarus.
At the roundtable “Belarus: Full-Scale Militarization”, organized in partnership with BELPOL and the German Marshall Fund, BELPOL presented a report on the militarization of Belarus and its military cooperation with Russia. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stressed that the evidence gathered should serve as the basis for concrete action by international partners, including maintaining sanctions against the regime and its defense industry, preventing sanctions evasion, and holding those responsible accountable.
Meetings
With Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed security, sanctions coordination, accountability for the Lukashenka regime’s complicity in the war, support for Belarusians in Ukraine, including volunteer fighters, and the status of the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Kyiv.
With NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Marcos Perestrello and Secretary General Benedetta Berti, she discussed threats emanating from Belarus, the release of political prisoners, sanctions against the regime’s defense industry, and cooperation with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also presented them with the BELPOL report.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also met and spoke with:
- Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland;
- members of the Polish Sejm;
- Michael Carpenter, US diplomat, Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Affairs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies;
- Diana Janse, State Secretary to Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Sweden;
- Ann Linde, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden;
- Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland;
- Ben Hodges, former Commander of US Army Europe;
- a Cypriot delegation and members of the diplomatic corps in Warsaw, including US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose.
In a meeting with financier and activist Bill Browder, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed transnational repression and the Lukashenka regime’s persecution of Belarusians in exile, including the abuse of Interpol mechanisms. She also spoke with Lord Ashcroft, who supports humanitarian programs.
At a dinner for forum speakers and participants, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked the organizers, Poland, and everyone supporting a free Belarus.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “At our meetings in Warsaw, we discussed how Belarus’s future, Ukraine’s victory, and the security of all Europe are interconnected. As long as Russia uses our territory, military infrastructure, and enterprises to pursue its aggression, the threat remains for all our neighbors. That is why Belarus needs the attention of international partners and a clear strategy to help restore our country’s independence and freedom.
Behind every such discussion are also people’s immediate needs: the release of political prisoners, support for their families and volunteer fighters, and protection for Belarusians whom the regime continues to persecute even abroad. I am grateful to everyone who continues to work with us on these issues.
It is important that our partners continue to support Belarusian society and stand ready to help when an opportunity for democratic change arises. A free Belarus can be a reliable neighbor to Ukraine and part of a secure Europe”.
