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Polish president talks regional security with Belarusian opposition leader

05.07.2022 22:00
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday met with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to discuss issues including regional security, his aides told reporters.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.PAP/Leszek Szymański

The meeting took place at Warsaw's Belweder Palace, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Duda and Tsikhanouskaya also discussed "support for free Belarus on the international stage, the situation in Belarus, the Lukashenko regime’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the issue of Polish prisoners in Belarus," according to the Polish president's office. 

Polish PM meets Tsikhanouskaya

On Monday, Tsikhanouskaya was hosted by Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki

After that meeting, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller told reporters that "the leaders of the Belarusian opposition fully support the Ukrainian authorities, who are bravely battling the Russian invasion.”

Meanwhile, Tsikhanouskaya said she had received assurances from Morawiecki that “Belarusians fleeing war-torn Ukraine will find shelter in Poland and that freedom fighters may count on Poland’s support.” 

“I asked Prime Minister Morawiecki to include the issue of democratic Belarus in every conversation about regional security,” Tsikhanouskaya added.

Major Belarusian conference in August

Tsikhanouskaya announced on Tuesday that a major "Conference of Belarusians" would take place next month, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported. 

The event will bring together organisations and activists "campaigning for the democratisation of Belarus and for the creation of an independent and just political arrangement," Tsikhanouskaya said.

Crackdown on Polish schools

She also told reporters that the Lukashenko regime was closing down Polish schools in Belarus' western Grodno region.

Tsikhanouskaya said: “Many parents and ordinary citizens from Grodno have been contacting me to voice their opposition - they are outraged that Polish schools are being closed down because they’re sorely needed.”

She added: “This is an act of revenge for Poland’s constant support for Belarusians and the democratic Belarus.”

Tuesday was day 132 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(pm/gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, polskatimes.pl