The Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, Andreas Norlén, welcomed Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya at the parliament building. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also held a briefing for the Swedish delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).
The Speaker of the Riksdag is the second highest-ranking official in the country after the King and holds a higher status than the Prime Minister. Andreas Norlén and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya discussed the situation in Belarus, as well as support for political prisoners, independent media, and cultural initiatives.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya spoke about the threats posed by Lukashenka’s illegitimate regime and emphasized the need to distinguish between the regime and the Belarusian people. She called for isolating the dictator while strengthening Belarusian society. With the parliamentary delegations, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya discussed joint efforts on international platforms and the inclusion of representatives from Belarusian democratic forces in the work of the OSCE PA and PACE. Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also urged Swedish MPs not to recognize the parliamentarians appointed by the regime and work towards their isolation in the OSCE PA.
The parties discussed the importance of keeping the borders open for Belarusians, promoting mobility, and continuing the issuance of visas. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya stressed that there should not be an iron curtain between Europe and Belarus. The parties also discussed cooperation between Swedish and Belarusian political parties, as well as their youth organizations.
During the meeting, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya was joined by her Advisor for the Constitutional Reform and Parliamentary Cooperation, Anatoli Liabedzka, and representative of the People’s Embassy in Sweden, Dzmitry Vaserman.
