{"id":175999,"date":"2026-02-17T13:31:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"bundestag-foreign-affairs-chief-says-europe-should-back-belarusians-civil-rights","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/","title":{"rendered":"Bundestag foreign affairs chief says Europe should back Belarusians\u2019 civil rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"634\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x.jpg 634w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x-178x118.jpg 178w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n      <div class=\"block-image__descr\">\n\n        \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja, Armin Laschet\n    <\/div>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(Laschet&#039;s X account)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>February 17, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>The struggle for civil rights in Belarus requires further support from Europe, said Armin Laschet, chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs at the German Bundestag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The politician made this statement on X following yesterday&#8217;s meeting with Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja in Berlin, noting that their talks focused on advocacy and hope for changes in Europe&#8217;s neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cichano\u016dskaja thanked Germany and Laschet personally for assistance and stressed the importance of continued support for Belarusian civil society, independent media and cultural projects, her aide Franak Via\u010dorka told <em>Pozirk.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The politician urged Europe to uphold a consistent and principled stance on Belarus to end politically-motivated reprisals and improve the human rights situation. She asked Germany to accept more Belarusian dissidents should they be expelled from the country after their release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sides also discussed activities of the Bundestag\u2019s Friends of Belarus group, potential joint events with the participation of German MPs as well as the exiled Belarusian community\u2019s needs, Via\u010dorka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cichano\u016dskaja reportedly praised Germany for leading in the number of visas issued to Belarusians, which helps maintain mobility of Belarusians and strengthen pro-European sentiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/germania-flag-pixabay-1128.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u0413\u0435\u0440\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0438<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041d\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0438 \u0413\u0435\u0440\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0438, \u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0430<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Berlin seeks to shield personal data of Belarusian aid recipients<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">January 31, Pozirk. The German government classified information on its ongoing projects in Belarus sought by the MPs from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), saying its commitment to transparency is limited by rules protecting confidential data. The cabinet rejected &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/173726\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>February 17, Pozirk. The struggle for civil rights in Belarus requires further support from Europe, said Armin Laschet, chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs at the German Bundestag. The politician made this statement on X following yesterday&#8217;s meeting with Belarusian opposition leader \u015aviat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja in Berlin, noting that their talks focused on advocacy and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":175958,"template":"","rubric":[27,14],"class_list":["post-175999","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-germanynews","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bundestag foreign affairs chief says Europe should back Belarusians\u2019 civil rights | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"February 17, Pozirk. The struggle for civil rights in Belarus requires further support from Europe, said Armin Laschet, chairman of the Committee of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bundestag foreign affairs chief says Europe should back Belarusians\u2019 civil rights | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"February 17, Pozirk. The struggle for civil rights in Belarus requires further support from Europe, said Armin Laschet, chairman of the Committee of\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pozirkonline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"634\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Pozirk_online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\"},\"headline\":\"Bundestag foreign affairs chief says Europe should back Belarusians\u2019 civil rights\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T10:31:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\"},\"wordCount\":207,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/\",\"name\":\"Bundestag foreign affairs chief says Europe should back Belarusians\u2019 civil rights | Pozirk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175999\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/laschet-tikhanovskaya-20260216-armin-laschet-x.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T10:31:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-10T12:05:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"February 17, Pozirk. 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