Изображение: Reform.news
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya does not expect a significant improvement in relations between Poland and European countries and Lukashenka following the release of Andrzej Poczobut. She said this while answering journalists’ questions on the sidelines of the Conference of Belarusians Worldwide.
“First of all, I must say that since 2020 we have been working with our American and European partners on the release of political prisoners. Therefore, we have discussed many tracks on how this could be done. And without coordination and communication with our partners, perhaps these prisoners would already have been forgotten. You know, the case of Poczobut’s exchange is a slightly different track, because it was not a typical humanitarian track that we or our American partners usually pursue. It was, you know, an intelligence services exchange, but we are grateful because Andrzej suffered in prison”, she said.
Tsikhanouskaya added that she intends to meet the former political prisoner. Answering a question about a possible thaw in relations between Warsaw and Minsk, she cast doubt on it, referring to statements by Polish officials.
“Today I heard a statement from one of the Polish officials that previously relations with Lukashenka were minus 20, now minus 15, so we all understand that the situation has not changed. People continue to be detained in Belarus, and Lukashenka threatens and blackmails our neighbours.
So this is not a new level of relations. The ball is in Lukashenka’s court. There are clear demands from our European partners and from Poland: to stop repression, stop detaining people, stop transnational repression, because people are under threat not only in Belarus but also beyond its borders. So this is a step by Lukashenka’s regime simply to show that it is ready to do something to improve relations. At the moment, we do not see this in perspective”, she added.
She was also asked whether the current energy crisis could influence EU policy. According to Tsikhanouskaya, rumours that certain European countries are reconsidering their approach to Minsk are not confirmed in conversations with politicians and officials.
“I have heard rumours that one country is already thinking about improving relations, others as well. But when we speak directly with the ministries of these countries — I have just returned from a trip and spoke with officials from the ministries of Germany and France, that is, the countries most often mentioned — there is no intention there to change their policy.
And I understand that these are all games by the regime to confuse us and make it unclear what is happening, and to create a sense, I don’t know, of some kind of betrayal from our European partners. Of course, the energy crisis may play a role, but this is more related not to Belarus but to the broader geopolitical context involving Russia. And, of course, we understand that Belarus is a hostage to this wider geopolitical context. But our task is to do everything possible to ensure that the attitude toward the regime does not change until real changes occur”, she said.