Dear friends,
Let me thank the Lithuanian Institute of History and Lithuanian MFA for organizing this conference in Lublin Four format.
Our nations – Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus – share a common heritage but also, I believe, a common future. But the most important – we share the same values.
Of course, there were tragic pages in our history. Our lands were battlegrounds for all major European wars. We suffered from the two totalitarian bloodsheds.
But there were also periods which we are really proud of. It’s the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the state where the ancestors of Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Belarusians lived together for centuries. We fought side by side during anti-Russian uprisings and helped each other during the soviet occupation.
Belarusians were standing with Lithuanians near the Parliament in the early nineties. We were with Ukrainians at all the Maidans. In 2020, Lithuanians and Poles were the first who lent a helping hand to Belarusians, when our peaceful revolution began, and in 2022, again, to Ukrainians, when Russia started its criminal war against Ukraine.
In times of need, we were alwaysstanding by each other. And I hope this friendship will stay forever.
We all belong to Europe. We are its integral part. In 2020, Belarusians made their choice – it’s a European choice. We are part of European civilization.
In August this year, all democratic parties and forces made a joint declaration that we pursue membership in the European Union.
For us, there is no other way. Only in the European Union can Belarus be a truly sovereign, free and prosperous country. There is and there will be no future with toxic and aggressive Russia. Russia doesn’t see either Belarus or Ukraine as independent states. Putin’s Russia wants to make our nations loyal and servile vassals. And it will never happen.
When Belarus and Ukraine become EU members, Russian attempts to restore the empire will be doomed to fail. This is why Putin supported Lukashenka’s terror against Belarusians. This is why Putin unleashed the war in Ukraine. And this is why supporting both democratic Belarus and Ukraine is crucial.
The fates of Belarus and Ukraine are interlinked. And I don’t doubt in the least that both Belarus and Ukraine will be members of the European Union, better sooner than later. In spite of a 30 year delay, Belarusian society is ready for the European future.
And we, the Belarusian democratic forces, should be ready, too. The time for reforms will come, and we are preparing these reforms already: constitutional, economical, political. The window of opportunities can open suddenly at an unexpected moment, as it happened in 2020. This time, we must not miss our chance.
As in the glorious times of our past, we Belarusians count on your helping hand in our fight against Russian tyranny and in our quest for becoming a part of Europe.
Supporting Belarusians’ fight for freedom today, same as supporting Ukraine, is not charity. It’s an investment in our safe, prosperous, and democratic European future.
Thank you.
