Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on 8 December. They discussed the situation in Belarus, international efforts to secure the release of political prisoners, Belarus’s role in regional security and possible prospects for future negotiations on Ukraine, according to Tsikhanouskaya’s Office.
Tsikhanouskaya and Kallas gave particular attention to the release of Belarusian political prisoners and to communication with the United States within the humanitarian track. They also discussed preparations for the next meeting of the Belarus–EU consultative group and possible steps to increase pressure on the regime should repression continue.
Kallas stated: “The European Union clearly distinguishes between the Belarusian people and the Lukashenka regime, and the EU’s policy remains twofold: isolating the regime and supporting Belarusian society.”
Tsikhanouskaya thanked the EU for its consistent position toward the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and stressed that the future of European security directly depends on whether Belarus remains independent and democratic.
“It is in the European Union’s interest for Belarus to be a free, sovereign and predictable state. And it is in the interest of Belarusians that, as a result of any negotiations, Belarus does not remain under Russia’s control for years,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
