WASHINGTON: Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsykhanuskaya appealed to the United States on Monday (July 19) for more help as she began a visit to Washington to meet with senior officials in the Biden government this week.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has controlled Belarus since 1994 and has suppressed street protests that began during the presidential elections last August, which his opponents say were manipulated to keep power.
Tsikhanoskaya, 38, ran in the elections for her husband Sergei Tsykhanosky, a vlogger who has been detained since May 2020 for violating public order, among other things, which he denies. Tsykhanoskaya fled to neighboring Lithuania after the defeat of Lukashenko.
On Monday, she plans to meet US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. A senior administration official said meetings with senior White House officials were also planned for this week.
She told CNN that more help is needed from the United States and the European Union.
“The United States has a moral obligation to be with us. I ask the United States to help civil society survive, ”she said. Stand by Belarus.
The senior administrator said the United States “stands by” Tsikhanoskaya and the Belarusian people and “will continue to support their democratic aspirations”.
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