Cichanoŭskaja team’s condemnation of Russia may pave way for meeting with Zelenskyy – MP

November 10, BPN. Recognizing the Belarusian opposition’s transition cabinet as a government in exile is not on the agenda, Ukrainian MP Oleksii Honcharenko told BPN on November 9.

“It is more important to discuss recognizing Belarus as occupied by Russia. Then there will be a question: who is the Belarusians’ legitimate representative?” the leader of the For Democratic Belarus cross-party group in Verkhovna Rada said.

He said a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Belarusian opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja is not a priority. “The Belarusians and the Ukrainians do not need a meeting for the sake of a photo or recognition. They need cooperation. We tell representatives of the Joint Transition Cabinet and Cichanoŭskaja’s team that they can decide to recognize the Russian regime as terrorist, to recognize the genocide of the Ukrainians. They can react to missile strikes from Belarus’ territory. When they have this stance, this meeting will happen. If they don’t, it will never happen,” the MP said.

He added that Kyiv itself must take a stance on the Łukašenka regime: “Now this is more important than having or not having meetings.”

On October 22, a group of Ukrainian MPs submitted a bill that calls Belarus Russia’s “temporarily occupied territory.” It calls Russia the occupying power, and Alaksandr Łukašenka’s government illegitimate.

On October 18, the Ukrainian parliament declared Chechya a territory occupied by Russia.