Фото: Офис Тихановской
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with Italy’s president Sergio Mattarella. The talks took place for the first time at the Quirinal Palace, the historic residence of the head of state.
According to Tsikhanouskaya’s Office, she thanked the president of Italy and the Italian people for their consistent support of the Belarusian people and democratic forces. She noted that cooperation between Italy and the democratic movement remains at a high level and is developing at governmental, parliamentary and municipal levels.
Tsikhanouskaya and Mattarella discussed the situation in Belarus, where repression continues, including against believers.
Tsikhanouskaya stressed the importance of strengthening the European perspective for the Belarusian people and countering the Russification and militarization of Belarus. She also highlighted the need to support the mobility of Belarusians, as well as Belarusian youth and society through educational, cultural and academic programs. The importance of expanding opportunities for Belarusian students and researchers to participate in European and Italian programs, educational exchanges and scholarship initiatives was also emphasized.
Tsikhanouskaya told the Italian president about cooperation in humanitarian matters with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. According to her, democratic forces have created infrastructure to receive political prisoners and assist those subjected to repression. The discussion also covered the strategy of democratic forces and the “round table” initiative, which could involve representatives of various political forces and civil society organizations for a peaceful transfer of power, provided that repression stops, political prisoners are released, persecution for political views is ended and the safety of participants is guaranteed. She stressed that Italy could play an important role in facilitating such dialogue in the future.