On March 7, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya visited Berlin, where she held a bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The Belarusian leader also spoke at a conference at the German Federal Foreign Office, met with diplomats, and gave comments to the press.
With Annalena Baerbock, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya discussed:
– support for Ukraine and humanitarian aid to Belarusian and Ukrainian refugees; visa facilitation and simplification of conditions of stay in the EU; assistance to the Belarusian media and civil society;
– sanctions against the regimes of Lukashenka and Putin for drawing Belarus into the war against Ukraine; delegitimization and diplomatic isolation of the Lukashenka regime, its exclusion from international organizations and structures;
– threats to Belarus’ independence; the de-facto occupation of the Belarusian territory by Russian troops; guarantees of the international community for the defense of Belarusian sovereignty.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also held a briefing for the diplomatic corps, including representatives of the Security Council member states and the UN Human Rights Council. In her speech, the national leader of Belarus communicated that Belarus is dragged into the war against Ukraine, emphasized the need for international guarantees of Belarus’ independence, as well as for bringing the perpetrators to justice. She also touched upon the issue of humanitarian assistance to Belarusians within the country and refugees from Belarus and Ukraine.
