After a bilateral meeting, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, held a joint press conference. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya thanked Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Minister Sybiha for the invitation and emphasized the solidarity of Belarusians with the Ukrainian people. She also stressed that, while the Lukashenka regime has made Belarus a co-aggressor, it does not represent the Belarusian people.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “This is my first working visit to Ukraine, and I am here to emphasize that the Belarusian people support the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The regime has involved Belarus in this aggression. But Lukashenka is an usurper who does not represent Belarusians and serves the interests of the Kremlin exclusively. And Belarus is not Russia, and Belarusians are not the regime. Belarusians stood with you on Maidan, died in the trenches since 2014. Thousands of Belarusians have spoken out against the war, and hundreds remain behind bars for supporting Ukraine.
Today, we discussed further cooperation between Ukraine and the democratic forces of Belarus. For us, it is crucial that Ukraine sees a future free Belarus as a partner and neighbor, not a threat.
We need more mutual trust, more contacts between people, experts, civil society, and democratic institutions. Putin and Lukashenka have done everything to destroy the friendly relations between our peoples, but we will definitely restore them. Our nations deserve a peaceful, European, and democratic future. And we must stand together to make it a reality”.
