{"id":500736,"date":"2025-12-08T11:52:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T08:52:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=500736"},"modified":"2025-12-08T13:07:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T10:07:25","slug":"the-stronger-belarusian-society-becomes-the-weaker-the-presence-of-lukashenka-and-putin-in-belarus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/the-stronger-belarusian-society-becomes-the-weaker-the-presence-of-lukashenka-and-putin-in-belarus","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Stronger Belarusian Society Becomes, the Weaker the Presence of Lukashenka and Putin in Belarus\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya<\/b> addressed the high-level conference \u201cBelarus: Building Foundations for Democratic Change\u201d in the European Parliament, stating that the stronger Belarusian society grows, the weaker the presence of Alyaksandr Lukashenka<\/b> and Vladimir Putin<\/b> becomes in Belarus \u2014 and that a democratic Belarus means a safer eastern border for the European Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the help of the European Union, we continue building strong democratic institutions. People who represent an alternative to the Lukashenka regime trust us and support us. The Commission clearly understands that supporting our movement is also an investment in our security. The stronger Belarusian society becomes, the weaker the presence of Lukashenka and Putin in Belarus,\u201d<\/i> Tsikhanouskaya said.<\/p>\n

She noted that in 2020 no one was fully prepared for change in Belarus except the Belarusians themselves \u2014 but that this alone was not enough at the time. Since then, the situation has fundamentally changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, in 2020 none of us were ready for a democratic revolution. Neither the European Union, nor Russia, nor the regime \u2014 perhaps only Belarusians were ready, but at that moment it was not enough. I remember my first meetings here in Brussels, and I felt caution from our partners: \u2018Oh, perhaps we shouldn\u2019t interfere in Belarus\u2019s internal politics, we shouldn\u2019t provoke Russia with all these statements.\u2019 Belarus was still largely seen as part of Russia\u2019s sphere of influence. But since then, I am sure, the situation has changed forever.<\/i><\/p>\n

The European Union is no longer simply observing \u2014 it is fighting for itself and for its neighbours. This is exactly what the European Union did in Moldova and won. Despite massive Russian resistance, I am confident it will win in Belarus as well. The European Union must be a player defending its own interests.<\/i><\/p>\n

Leaving Belarus alone with Russia means giving space for Russian aggression, provocations, and hostility. Conversely, a democratic, independent, European Belarus means stability and a safer eastern flank,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

Tsikhanouskaya stressed that EU participation in the peace process between Ukraine and Russia is critically important. In her view, a peace agreement will shape the future of Belarus and other neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strongly advocate for the European Union to be represented in the ongoing peace negotiations on Ukraine. Because this is not only about Ukraine \u2014 it concerns all the neighbours of the European Union. A peace agreement will determine the future of Belarus, Moldova, and the Caucasus. But regardless of the direction these negotiations take, Belarus will remain part of Europe. And it is the European Union that will play a crucial role in Belarus in the future.<\/i><\/p>\n

I am certain that, sitting at the negotiating table, the European Union will also speak on our behalf and say that Russia must leave not only Ukraine, but also Belarus \u2014 with its troops and nuclear weapons \u2014 allowing us to decide our own future,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

She also emphasised that Belarusians and the EU must be ready for a new window of opportunity, which is why preparation for post-Lukashenka Belarus is already underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis window of opportunity, when it opens, may be very short and very narrow. That is why several years ago we began important work on developing a vision for a new post-Lukashenka Belarus,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

During her address, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya thanked European partners for their support, cooperation, and engagement with the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cooperation is not just symbolic, it is very practical. Last month we held a meeting with the European Commission at senior-official level and with all member states to discuss the needs of our media, cultural and educational initiatives, and our human-rights defenders. As we expect the imminent release of new political prisoners, we hope for further support from the Commission for our human-rights defenders in the future,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

At the conference, European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos<\/b> announced that the EU will allocate an additional \u20ac30 million next year to support the Belarusian people, civil society, media, and human-rights defenders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addressed the high-level conference \u201cBelarus: Building Foundations for Democratic Change\u201d in the European Parliament, stating that the stronger Belarusian society grows, the weaker the presence of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin becomes in Belarus \u2014 and that a democratic Belarus means a safer eastern border for the European Union. \u201cWith the help of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/6936a3654dc69.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"\u201cThe Stronger Belarusian Society Becomes, the Weaker the Presence of Lukashenka and Putin in Belarus\u201d"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-500736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}