Visas and Political Prisoners: Democratic Forces Representatives Hold Talks in Italy

On April 2-3, Dzianis Kuchynski, diplomatic adviser to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, visited Italy. The trip was devoted to securing and implementing agreements reached during meetings previously held by Tsikhanouskaya with the country’s leadership. Together with Dzianis Kuchynski, parliamentary cooperation adviser Anatol Liabedzka and head of the Belarusian Community Centre in Florence under Tsikhanouskaya’s office Yuliya Yukhno took part in the talks.

Meetings were held at Italy’s Foreign Ministry and the prime minister’s office, including with Deputy Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister Pietro Sferra Carini, as well as Deputy Secretary General and Director General for Political Affairs and International Security at the Foreign Ministry Cecilia Piccioni.

As explained by Tsikhanouskaya’s office, the topics of the meetings included:

• implementation of agreements reached after previous visits;
• the situation of political prisoners in Belarus;
• support for and development of the International Humanitarian Fund;
• coordination on the “American” and “European” tracks;
• Italy’s role in the G7 in the context of the situation in Belarus;
• the issuance of Schengen visas to Belarusian citizens in Minsk;
• cooperation with Italian embassies in Vilnius and Warsaw.

In addition, a number of talks were held in the Italian parliament, including discussions on organising an event in the Italian Senate during “Chernobyl Week”, support for Belarusian initiatives and cooperation with the parliamentary group “For a Democratic Belarus”.

Special attention was paid to the development of the Belarusian community in Florence. The meetings were attended by the head of the Belarusian democratic community centre, Yuliya Yukhno. The discussions focused on support for the centre’s activities, development of the shelter, joint cultural and social projects, as well as cooperation with local authorities and parliamentarians.

“The most difficult thing after important visits is to follow through on the agreements reached. That is why this visit took place immediately after the high-level meetings — to secure and finalise all the decisions taken. The visit to Italy was an important step in coordinating international efforts in support of a democratic Belarus and confirmed the readiness of Italian partners for further cooperation,” Kuchynski said.