Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Spanish Senate President Pedro Rollán Ojeda

During her visit to Madrid, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with the President of the Spanish Senate, Pedro Rollán Ojeda.

The meeting was also attended by Diplomatic Advisor Dzianis Kuchynski, Parliamentary Cooperation Advisor Anatoli Liabedzka, Chief Advisor Franak Viacorka, 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.

Key points from the meeting:

1. The parties discussed establishing a group “For a Democratic Belarus” in the Senate.

1. They touched upon a possible memorandum of cooperation between the Spanish Senate and the democratic forces of Belarus. “In previous meetings with representatives of other parliaments, we had to persuade or provide arguments why this was needed. Here, everything was, so to speak, on a bilateral level of interests. Therefore, I assess very highly that the memorandum may be signed, and Spain may become one of the three parliaments with which we will do this this year”, Anatoli Liabedzka notes.

1. They considered a format of cooperation in the Belarus–Venezuela–Spain triangle. President Ojeda expressed interest in organizing an event in this format during the year.

1. Discussions also covered international cooperation. “I think their representatives will attend the meeting of the Alliance of Parliamentary Groups ‘For a Democratic Belarus’ in London, where representatives of more than twenty parliaments will gather”, Anatoli Liabedzka comments.

The parties separately discussed support for political prisoners, from official statements and resolutions to public solidarity rallies in Madrid. Pedro Rollán Ojeda proposed going beyond the Senate and considering broader formats of support for Belarus, including public events in Madrid and the use of visual tools to draw the attention of tourists and residents to the issue of political prisoners and the situation in Belarus.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “Today, we heard that the Spanish Senate is open to cooperation with the democratic forces of Belarus and is ready to participate in future parliamentary meetings. We thank the Senate of Spain and President Ojeda for supporting Belarus — this meeting showed that we have a shared understanding and readiness to work together”. 

The Senate is the upper chamber of the Spanish parliament, which reviews laws, introduces amendments, may approve or reject them, and represents the interests of the country’s regions.