Opposition leader praises Trump for pioneering sanctions against Łukašenka in 2020

January 21, Pozirk. Donald Trump was the United States president to introduce the first sanctions against Alaksandar Łukašenka and his cronies in 2020, Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja said, commenting on Trump’s inauguration yesterday.
The new US administration has many professionals who “know about Belarus” and support the Belarusians’ struggle for freedom, she added, noting that the Belarusian opposition has already established contacts with the new president’s team.
Cichanoŭskaja urged Washington not to allow Belarus to become “a bargaining chip or a consolation prize for Russia” during potential Ukraine peace talks. Only a democratic Belarus can become a donor of stability and peace and a reliable partner of the US, she added.
Łukašenka will keep surrendering Belarus to Russia, keep up tension at the borders, threaten neighbors with migrants and risk escalation, the politician warned.
“The Belarusian people stand as allies of the US, united by shared values and a common vision for a freer, safer and more prosperous world,” Cichanoŭskaja said in her congratulatory message to Trump earlier yesterday.
“Now we must rediscover Belarus for President Trump and show the importance of Belarus from a new perspective,” she noted on Telegram. “We must demonstrate that an independent and free Belarus is strategically important for peace and security in the whole region. Democratic changes in our country are in line with the US interests.”
Over the past two years, the US has held two rounds of strategic dialogue with the Belarusian pro-democracy forces, launched during President Joe Biden’s tenure.

Cichanoŭskaja to Trump: We believe the United States will continue to defend freedom
- Economy, PoliticsŁukašenka gave Mašenski’s company preferential treatment in dealings with Biełšyna, says BelPolThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBiełaja Ruś party signs cooperation roadmap with Cuban communistsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityIllegal migration from Belarus to EU up 20 percent year-on-yearThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełarusnafta announces uninterrupted fuel deliveries to gas stationsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarus opposition prepares for post-Łukašenka power struggleThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityPolish border guards find tunnel under Belarusian borderThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsReprisals: arrests, interrogations at Belarusian border continueThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- PoliticsBelarus adds 23 to extremist listThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsLithuania temporarily reinstates protection for CichanoŭskajaThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityLithuania designates 26 airspace areas for potential flight restrictionsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietySupreme Court finds man who died in 1997 guilty of genocideThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics“Our goal is to make the European perspective realistic,” Cichanoŭskaja tells envoysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsUCP leader Kazłoŭ leaves BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, SocietyBelarus’ high prison population adversely impacts demographics, economist warnsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyBelarusian community in Poland exceeds 145,000The material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- PoliticsKyiv uncovers Ukrainian conscripts’ escape route to BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsCardinal Gugerotti to visit Belarus next weekThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBiełstat: industrial inventories up 36 percent in January-SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+