On April 7, during her visit to Madrid, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez.
As the Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, she thanked PM Sánchez for supporting a free Belarus, for consistent assistance to Ukraine, and for a principled stance toward the Aliaksandr Lukashenka regime. She also expressed gratitude for resolving residency issues faced by Belarusians: thanks to the work of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s Office and the Belarusian diaspora in Spain, the government has begun recognizing expired Belarusian passports. She also noted the support from all Spanish institutions.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the releases of political prisoners, as well as the challenges they face after release or deportation from the country. She emphasized that US diplomacy has a humanitarian focus and noted that, in addition to securing the release of prisoners, new arrests must be stopped and conditions created for democratization.
The parties separately discussed the situation in Ukraine and the new dynamics in relations with the Ukrainian authorities. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about her meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and noted that the evolving cooperation could influence the situation in Belarus and help address a number of practical issues.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also spoke about the work of Belarus’ democratic forces and civil society, as well as the activities of the International Humanitarian Fund. The sides discussed the problems faced by Belarusians in Spain and possible ways to address them.
The meeting was also attended by Diplomatic Advisor Dzianis Kuchynski and Imaguru Founder Tania Marinich, who represents the Belarusian community in Madrid and has been nominated as the Head of the Mission of Democratic Belarus in Madrid.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Prime Minister Sánchez is well aware of our challenges and assured me that Spain’s position remains unchanged. Spain clearly distinguishes between Belarusians and the regime, Belarus and Russia, and will continue to support those who have found safe refuge here in Spain. We spoke extensively about political prisoners, Ukraine, relations with the United States, and of course, what more we can do together with Spain.
It is crucial for us that the European position remains consistent in order to achieve systemic change in Belarus. Spain itself went through a dictatorship — its support is important to us today, and its experience will be valuable for Belarus in the future”.
