Dissident leader wants Europe to consider Belarus in broader Ukraine peace deal
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya defends Angela Merkel’s record on Russia and says Europe indulged Alexander Lukashenko as “our son of the bitch."
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has urged the EU not to disregard Belarus when discussing Ukraine's peace and Europe's security future. Tsikhanouskaya warns that the Russia-aligned Minsk regime, under President Alexander Lukashenko, will persist as a menace to neighboring nations unless Lukashenko faces political pressure.
In an interview with Anne McElvoy for the Brussels Playbook Week Ender podcast, Tsikhanouskaya emphasized the significance of including Belarus in peace negotiations and addressing the future security architecture of the region. She asserts that Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is not trustworthy to guarantee a secure border with Ukraine.
Belarus has remained a loyal ally to Russia, supporting him during a 2020 popular uprising against Lukashenko, which saw him flee to Lithuania. Currently living in exile, Tsikhanouskaya received a 15-year prison sentence in absentia for treason. She criticized Europe's seemingly indifferent attitude towards Belarus, particularly in the lead-up to the 2020 election.
Tsikhanouskaya attributes the war in Ukraine to Russia's growing confidence, rather than German Chancellor Angela Merkel's role in the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements, which failed to prevent further Russian aggression. Nevertheless, Tsikhanouskaya accuses Europe, in general, of overlooking the repression in Minsk.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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