Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski, during her working visit to Warsaw. The Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Pavel Latushka, also participated in the meeting.
The parties discussed:
- ways to secure the release of political prisoners in Belarus, including Andrzej Poczobut, and support them;
- travel documents for Belarusians. As these are currently issued for one year, the Belarusian side urged Poland to extend their validity to 3-5 years, with the minister agreeing to facilitate the resolution of this issue;
- a new relocation program for Belarusian businesses;
- an inter-ministerial group involving the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Justice to address the problems faced by the Belarusian diaspora in Poland;
- aid for media and civil society;
- the upcoming sham election in Belarus. The meeting discussed the democratic forces’ strategy, Lukashenka’s illegitimacy, and the event scheduled for January 26 in Warsaw;
- Belarus as a priority during Poland’s EU Presidency.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Pavel Latushka emphasized visas and mobility for Belarusians, with Ms. Tsikhanouskaya noting that activists in exile face challenges obtaining visas, with many young people being denied student visas.
To address the problem, the Belarusian leader proposed easing requirements for student and work visas and invited Poland to consider issuing Schengen visas for longer terms. Additionally, Ms. Tsikhanouskaya called for an effective mechanism for issuing visas in third countries, such as Georgia.
