The leader of the Belarusian opposition, Vester Cicov, in an interview for Politco portal published on Monday, called on US President Donald Trump to continue to put pressure on the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. She did so more than two weeks after Lukashenko pardoned her husband Siara. According to her, the US President has the opportunity to change the situation in the region. She warned, however, that with Lukashenko in power, there is no peace in the area, writes TASR.
Cicanovska: Lukashenko must be punished, not rewarded
The former presidential candidate of Cichanov Lukashenko pardoned at the end of June after Minsk visited a US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg. He ended up behind the bars in May 2020, when he was preparing to run against Lukashenko in the August presidential election. A year later, he was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for “organizing unrest”. His wife of holiday was a candidate instead of him and is now in exile in Lithuania.
“Do not normalize the situation in which people are released for some concessions on your part, alleviating sanctions or publicity,” she said in an interview. “Lukashenko must be punished, not rewarded,” she declared.
In an interview, Cichanovska revealed that she was not sure why the Belarusian regime of her husband and other political prisoners released. Politico recalls that Lukashenko has previously pardoned several dissidents in exchange for concessions by international actors.
Trump according to Cicanovska can change the entire security architecture of the region
According to Cicanovska, Belarus could become a “successful story of President Trump’s foreign policy”, but only if the US allies ensure that the country is not handed over to Russia as a consolation prize at the end of the war in Ukraine.
“I believe that American partners know who they are doing,” said the leader of the Belarusian opposition. According to her, the US President can “change the entire security architecture of the region” if he and his allies use his power and sanctions to release more prisoners and insist on systemic changes in the Belarusian government.
However, it warned the US to avoid the remuneration of the aggressor. “Without justice, there can be no peace. And the question of Belarus is existential. If Lukashenko stays in power in Belarus, it will not be possible to secure peace throughout the region,” she said.
