A panel discussion “Zapad 2025 and Beyond: Understanding the Eastern Threat and NATO’s Response” took place in The Hague today. It was organized by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Belarus and the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS). The conversation focused on key challenges to regional security: the militarization of Belarus, the country’s growing military dependence on Russia, and the regime’s cooperation with China, Iran, and other authoritarian states.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya set the tone with her opening speech, emphasizing that Belarus must be freed from Putin’s control. She went on the highlight the following points:
📌 Zapad 2025
“This autumn, dictators are planning to hold military exercises in Belarus. Officially, they’ve promised not to conduct them near NATO’s borders. But can the regime be trusted? In 2022, Lukashenka also promised that Russian troops would return home”.
📌 Kremlin control
“A creeping occupation is underway in Belarus. The regime has shifted from authoritarianism to totalitarianism, using the war and so-called ‘internal enemies’ to justify Russification, propaganda, deployment of nuclear weapons, and repression. Political prisoners are used as bargaining chips”.
📌 Support for Belarusian society
“We must view Belarus not only through the lens of human rights, but also through the lens of European security. A stable, democratic Belarus is essential to the region’s security architecture”.
📌 Pressure on the regime
“We must not ease international pressure on the regime. Only when we see real changes – when repression stops and all political prisoners are freed – can we talk about any dialogue”.
