Politician: Kyiv should start talking to Belarusian opposition

March 1, BPN. Belarusians have realized that peaceful protest has failed to stop the regime, so “there are new assessments of the prospect of using force to bring about change,” Valer Kavaleŭski, the opposition’s foreign secretary, said during the February 28 panel discussion “Belarus in Ukraine’s Foreign Policy.”

“We see that the number of such initiatives has increased since the war began,” Kavaleŭski said. “Belarus has moved away from the notion of neutrality. The regime has become pro-Russian, while the Belarusian people are choosing a pro-Ukrainian stance. And this concerns a great many Belarusians who said they could not remain neutral in this war.”

He noted the growing popularity of the opinion “that the political relations between Ukraine and the democratic forces of Belarus are unsatisfactory.” “And we agree with that. It would be helpful if we could establish transparent and open political relations,” he stressed.

“The lack of contacts is becoming obvious to everyone,” the politician said. “Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja has met with the leaders of almost all democratic countries, and the lack of such contacts with Ukraine is perceived by people as a longer distance between Belarus and Ukraine.”

According to Kavaleŭski, Kyiv “needs to understand that diplomatic relations with Łukašenka do not help remove the threat from the north.”

“Łukašenka serves [Vladimir] Putin faithfully. He has complied with all of Russia’s requests in support of the war and has done nothing to protect Ukraine from it,” Kavaleŭski stressed. “The alternative is to start talking to representatives of democratic Belarus.”