Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya held a briefing in Vilnius for ambassadors and special envoys of foreign countries responsible for Belarus. The meeting was attended by diplomats from Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, the United States, and Canada and focused on political prisoners, potential border closures, Wagner PMC presence in Belarus, and Lukashenka's new decree suspending consular services for Belarusians abroad. The diplomats and Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also talked about the UN General Assembly agenda and progress on the new Belarusian passport. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the results of the New Belarus Conference 2023 and the new representatives in the United Transitional Cabinet and her Office.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for assisting Belarusians in every possible way to enable them to legalize their stay abroad. She asked the host countries to recognize expired passports, extend the validity of residence permits, and abandon requirements of documents that can only be issued in Belarus (apostille, certificate of clean criminal record, etc.). The Belarusian leader thanked the consular departments for their work in continuing to issue visas, with some even increasing their issuance.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also noted that if the borders are closed, a safe corridor should be ensured for Belarusians fleeing repression. Currently, full border closure is off the table, but she emphasized that it is a priority for the democratic forces that passenger traffic between the EU and Belarus stands for as long as possible.
