Belarus must not be Putin’s ‘consolation prize’, opposition leader says
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya urged world leaders Tuesday not to neglect her isolated homeland.
Ms Tikhanovskaya said Belarus should not become Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “consolation prize” as part of his war against Ukraine.
“I ask our partners and allies to keep Belarus on the agenda,” she told AFP on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“It’s crucial that Belarus is … discussed, that in our region Belarus is not left to Putin as a consolation prize.”
Ms Tikhanovskaya, who claimed victory against long-time Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, has lived in exile since authorities unleashed a crackdown on protesters disputing the results of the vote.
Mr Lukashenko has been instrumental to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, allowing Moscow to stage attacks from Belarusian territory.
More recently it hosted Russian nuclear weapons and harboured members of the Wagner mercenary group.
“It’s also a threat to regional security, a threat to our neighbours through deployment of nuclear weapons, through deployment of Russian military forces in our country,” Ms Tikhanovskaya said.
– AFP
