Svitlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian Democratic Movement, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, linked a landmark cooperation agreement on May 3.
The agreement, signed during Tsihanouskaya's visit to Malta, marks the first official consolidation of cooperation between Belarusian democratic forces and a foreign political entity.
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Today is an important historical day. The democratic forces of #Belarus formalized relations with @Europarl_EN and signed a letter of intent on cooperation. I want to thank all MEPs and especially @EP_President Roberta Metsola for this strong and unprecedented step.
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) May 3, 2024
Dear… pic.twitter.com/FOM2B5azDY
According to the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus press service, the agreement recognizes the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and the Coordination Council as legitimate representatives of the Belarusian people in the eyes of the international community.
The document pledges support for key political structures of the Belarusian democratic movement, including Svitlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Coordinating Council, the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, and various Belarusian political parties in their pursuit of closer ties with Europe.
Outlined within the agreement are various areas of collaboration between the Belarusian democratic forces and the European Parliament, including:
- Mutual support and cooperation in exerting pressure on the regime.
- Assistance in safeguarding Belarusian sovereignty, independence, and national identity against threats, particularly from Russia.
- Support for Belarusians facing migration issues due to political persecution.
- Joint efforts to hold regime representatives accountable for crimes against humanity within Belarus, as well as complicity in war crimes and aggression against Ukraine.
Tsikhanouskaya is widely believed to have won a 2020 presidential election in her country rigged by Lukashenko.
The Belarusian opposition leader has been very vocally supportive of Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has met with volunteer Belarusian fighters from the Kastus Kalinowski Regiment, which helps Ukraine fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion today in hopes that in the future their own country will be free of authoritarian rule.
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