On August 29, an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Gymnich format took place in Copenhagen. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke to the heads of foreign ministries from all 27 EU member states, as well as the UK, Norway, and Iceland. The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, also attended the meeting.
For the first time since his release, Siarhei Tsikhanouski – Sviatlana’s husband and one of the symbols of the 2020 uprising in Belarus – also addressed European diplomats.
In her 10-minute speech, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that Siarhei’s release was not a miracle but the result of persistence and joint efforts by the EU and the United States. She reminded the participants that more than 1,300 political prisoners remain behind bars, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, and urged the EU and the US to coordinate efforts for their release.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya stressed that both Putin and Lukashenka will try to deceive Western leaders, including Donald Trump:
“As Putin intensifies strikes on Ukraine, Lukashenka escalates terror in Belarus. There are no grounds for easing sanctions against Lukashenka”.
She stressed that change in Belarus is not only possible but inevitable:
“Even Lukashenka’s closest circle is already whispering about transition. Lukashenka has no future. His only source of support is Putin – and even that is not endless”.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called on Europe to prepare for a post-Lukashenka Belarus and to see support for Belarusians not as charity but as an investment in European security. She highlighted the need to support journalists, human rights defenders, victims of repression, and cultural initiatives, as well as bring the regime to accountability through international courts.
She reminded the audience of Belarusians’ European roots:
“The regime is trying to destroy everything that connects us with Europe, to isolate Belarusians, to deprive us of hope for freedom and change. But Belarus is part of Europe and always will be”.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also underlined the unity of Belarus’ and Ukraine’s struggles:
“Ukraine is holding the defense – the defense of all of Europe. Today, together with you, we honor all fallen defenders of Ukraine, including 80 Belarusians. With Ukraine, we fight for one future”.
After Sviatlana, her husband Siarhei took the floor:
“Today, I stand before you as a free man – but also as someone who spent more than five years in prisons in Belarus, in conditions resembling a modern-day Gulag. I lost my freedom, my health, my property. But the most painful loss was the years stolen from my family”.
Siarhei Tsikhanouski thanked all who worked for the release of political prisoners:
“The regime thought it had broken me. In reality, it only strengthened my resolve. My freedom was not an act of goodwill; it was achieved thanks to my wife’s tireless efforts, through international diplomacy, and through the firm stance of our partners – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and of course, the European Union. Without your unity, I would not be standing here today”.
He emphasized that once political prisoners are released, they will need support:
“It will be very important to secure safe shelter for 1,300 political prisoners and their families. These are the best people of Belarus – men and women who stood for freedom. They deserve Europe’s attention and support now more than ever. They need rehabilitation, legal status, and a chance for a new beginning”.
The meeting in Copenhagen demonstrated Europe’s unity on the Belarus issue.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya concluded her speech with the following words:
“We are all here as part of ‘Team Europe’. Perhaps Belarus is still on the bench. But we are part of this team. Don’t rush to write us off. The very fact that we are here today is a sign that Belarus belongs to Europe”.
