На русском языке:
Тихановская нанесла визит в США и поговорила с Байденом
На беларускай мове:
Візіт Ціханоўскай у ЗША і размова з Байдэнам
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met with US President Joe Biden at the White House. This is the main event of her official visit to the United States, which has lasted for almost two weeks and is coming to an end. About the meeting with Biden and other prominent US statesmen, as well as the reaction of the establishment to Tsikhanouskaya’s visit — in our material.
"I leave the White House with confidence that the voice of millions of Belarusians has been heard".– Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said after the meeting.
She briefly cited the position of the Belarusian democratic forces, which she conveyed to the US president:
- The Belarusian revolution is not related to geopolitics. This is the democratic choice of Belarusians, and it is the moral duty of the United States to support us.
- The sovereignty of Belarus is not subject to discussion and bargaining. Any transactions signed by an illegitimate regime are illegal.
- Only new free elections under international control can be a solution to the crisis. And all prisoners for political reasons must be released without any conditions.
- The crisis in Belarus should be included in the international agenda, in the UN and the OSCE, and all those responsible should be brought to justice at international courts.
US President Joe Biden shared his impressions of the meeting with Tsikhanouskaya in his Twitter:
"I was honored to meet Tsikhanouskaya at the White House this morning. The U.S. continues to support people of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human rights".
I was honored to meet with @Tsihanouskaya at the White House this morning. The United States stands with the people of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human rights. pic.twitter.com/SdR6w4IBNZ
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021
During her visit, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also held talks with Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser at the White House, with Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, Deputy Secretary of State, Derek Scholle, the US State Department adviser, and many other authoritative politicians.
The US establishment on Tsikhanouskaya's visit
Ned Price, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said the U.S. continues to consider new sanctions against the regime in Belarus and said the U.S. will be actively involved in the investigation of last year’s elections, human rights abuses and repression.
"The level of interaction that we saw yesterday with Mrs. Tsikhanouskaya was an unprecedented level of interaction with the Belarusian leader this century",– Price said.
Robert Menendez, the head of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, called on the US to impose sectoral sanctions against the Belarusian regime.
"It was an honor for me to meet with Tsikhanouskaya today in the Senate. The U.S. should renew its support for civil society in Belarus and impose sectoral sanctions in response to the government's repression",– Menendez wrote.
Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, after talks with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya:
"We discussed the way out of the political crisis: the release of all political prisoners, inclusive dialogue and new elections. Long live Belarus!",–Blinken wrote
Emily Horne, NSC spokeswoman, wrote after Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s meeting with Jake Sullivan, national security adviser:
"The United States, together with partners and allies, will continue to hold the Lukashenko regime accountable for its actions, including with the help of imposition of sanctions",– Horne said.
Tsikhanouskaya called on the United States:
- to strengthen support for Belarusian civil society – human rights defenders, regional initiatives, students, families of political prisoners, media;
- to increase pressure on the regime, including sanctions coordinated with the EU against specific "wallets" of the regime and closing loopholes to circumvent them;
- those responsible for repressions against Belarusians should be brought to justice. And to send a signal to the Kremlin calling for an halt to support for the illegitimate regime;
- not to conduct any cooperation with the regime, including the programs of the World Bank, the IMF – in accordance with the policy of the Act on Democracy in Belarus, which was adopted in December 2020;
- to raise the issue of Belarus during high-level international events and invite Belarusian democratic forces to participate in them.
We remind that on the eve of the official visit of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to the United States, The Washington Post published a column in which it called on US President Joe Biden to immediately impose sanctions against the Lukashenka’s regime.
