During the first day of her visit to Washington, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as well as US Senators, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin, and Peter Welch.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya praised American leadership in opposing dictators. She called for supporting the Belarusian democratic community and increasing pressure on the regime to release political prisoners and end Belarus’ involvement in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The leader discussed the results of the Coordination Council election and the democratic forces’ plans for 2025.
During the meeting, the parties discussed:
📌The draft of a new Belarus Democracy Act, which would strengthen the agency of Belarus’ democratic forces and could contribute to increased support for Belarus;
📌A campaign in support of political prisoners in Belarus, particularly imprisoned journalists, and possible steps for their release;
📌Sanctions against the Lukashenka regime;
📌Continued and expanded support for free media, repressed individuals, cultural, and human rights initiatives;
📌Support for repressed individuals;
📌Belarus-related events during the NATO Summit;
📌Support for the Belarusian diaspora in the USA.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya called for distinguishing between the Belarusian people and the regime and noted that Belarus must not become a consolation prize for Putin.
