February 18, Pozirk. Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference to thank him for supporting a democratic Belarus and a democratic Ukraine, Cichanoŭskaja’s office said.
Her advisor Franak Viačorka told Pozirk that the encounter was “brief but really important.”
“The secretary of state supports our efforts to develop a strategic dialogue. Working groups will get down to business soon. And we are certainly waiting for a special envoy to be appointed for Belarus,” Viačorka said.
Cichanoŭskaja also met with a former US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.
Clinton focused on the displacement of Ukrainiang children by the Łukašenka regime, Viačorka said. Cichanoŭskaja told her about the dramatic situation of Belarusian political prisoners.
Besides, Cichanoŭskaja discussed the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus with the Latvian and Estonian defense ministers, highlighting her country’s extreme significance for Russia in light of “possible escalation against the West.”
Cichanoŭskaja, Latvia’s Andris Sprūds and Estonia’s Hanno Pevkur talked about Russian-Belarusian military maneuvers and Alaksandar Łukašenka’s efforts “to capitalize on war.”
The negotiators agreed to exchange information on the situation in Belarus and to organize cooperation “at the expert level and with the United Transitional Cabinet,” Viačorka said.
Cichanoŭskaja urged the ministers to help Belarusian volunteer fighters, including the Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment.
