{"id":602439,"date":"2026-11-12T14:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T11:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=602439"},"modified":"2026-11-12T14:45:43","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T11:45:43","slug":"tsikhanouskaya-belarus-must-be-included-in-talks-on-peace-in-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/tsikhanouskaya-belarus-must-be-included-in-talks-on-peace-in-the-region","title":{"rendered":"Tsikhanouskaya: Belarus Must Be Included In Talks On Peace In The Region"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Belarusian issue must be included in talks on peace in our region. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya<\/b> made the statement ahead of the European Political Community summit, which is opening in Ireland. In her view, peace cannot be ensured without a free and democratic Belarus.<\/p>\n

Tsikhanouskaya said she had come to the EPC summit with several important messages. The first concerns Ukraine. She welcomed all efforts aimed at establishing peace but stressed that any peace must be lasting.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I think that we really welcome all the efforts to bring peace and security to our region, but in our opinion, the peace should be just and long-lasting. We shouldn’t compromise on Ukraine’s terms, and we shouldn’t compromise on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine<\/span>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Belarusian people have lived together with Russia for a long time. We know that Russia doesn’t need this war to end because war fuels Putin’s regime. And war is not just a part or a tool of foreign policy. It’s a way for Putin to stay in power. So that’s why we have to put all possible pressure on the regimes to make them step away and to provide every opportunity to help Ukrainians win this war, because the victory of Ukraine will shape not only their future but the future of the whole of Europe<\/span>,\u201d<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n

Tsikhanouskaya also said she was convinced that Belarus must be included in talks on peace in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think that Belarus should be an issue in negotiations about peace in the region because without a free and democratic Belarus, there will be no security either for Ukraine or for European countries. And that’s why we have to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops not only from Ukraine but also from Belarus. <\/span>And Belarus is a wonderful example of how democracy and security are intertwined <\/span>,\u201d <\/em>she said.<\/p>\n

Tsikhanouskaya’s third message to the European Political Community concerned political prisoners in Belarus.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy third message is about political prisoners in Belarus. Of course, we are grateful for the diplomatic efforts of the USA to release political prisoners, but repressions continue. We have more than 900 people still behind bars, and I’m so grateful to the European Union for its strong, principled policy towards the regime. The European Union continues to put pressure, economic pressure and political pressure, while supporting the Belarusian people in our fight for democracy. And, of course, the unity of Europe is crucial in these difficult and turbulent times, and I hope that the leaders today will discuss how to maintain this unity and how not to be influenced by Russian propaganda. And, of course, Belarus is part of the European nation, just like Ukraine, and the European project will not be complete without our countries becoming part of the European Union<\/span>,\u201d<\/i> she said.<\/p>\n

Answering journalists’ questions, Tsikhanouskaya said that dialogue on peace made no sense without the participation of European leaders, since the security of the European Union was also at stake.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u00a0Of course, for Russia it would be much more convenient if Europe were absent from these negotiations, because Russia understands the principles and the strong position of the European Union in supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes. And, of course, they don’t need an additional voice in favour of Ukraine. But, of course, it’s not up to Putin to decide who will be at the negotiation table, because we shouldn’t allow a Yalta-style scenario anymore, where the fate of countries or nations is decided without their participation<\/span>,\u201d<\/i> she stressed.<\/p>\n

She was also asked what she would say to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/strong> if they met.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I will express my gratitude for his bravery, because people in cold trenches and civilians who are suffering through a cold winter certainly deserve all the respect and support from all free and powerful nations. And I will also express my gratitude that he is keeping the issue of Belarus on the agenda. He was the person who said that the eastern border of Europe has to lie along the eastern border of Belarus.<\/em><\/p>\n

And you know that our relationship has improved a lot. I made a state visit to Kyiv this spring, and since then we have had constant consultations with his administration, as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. So I truly believe that the fates of Belarus and Ukraine are intertwined, and we, as Belarusians, are trying to help Ukrainians as much as we can. We don’t have a lot of capacity, but we are showing our solidarity and encouraging more and more Belarusians to join the Ukrainian army as military volunteers,\u201d<\/em> Tsikhanouskaya concluded.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Irish Prime Minister Miche\u00e1l Martin greets Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ahead of the EPC summit. Screenshot from the broadcast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Belarusian issue must be included in talks on peace in our region. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya made the statement ahead of the European Political Community summit, which is opening in Ireland. In her view, peace cannot be ensured without a free and democratic Belarus. Tsikhanouskaya said she had come to the EPC summit with several important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":602441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6af5a6eadb13f.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Tsikhanouskaya: Belarus Must Be Included In Talks On Peace In The Region"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338,143090],"tags":[143118,143172],"class_list":["post-602439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-politics","tag-belarus","tag-svetlana-tihanovskaja"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","permalink_manager":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602439","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\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":602462,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602439\/revisions\/602462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}