VILNIUS (LITHUANIA) – President Emmanuel Macron of France became the first important Western leader to visit the exiled opposition leader of Belarus. During his visit on Tuesday, he vowed to garner European support for the people of the country.
After the allegedly rigged election in Belarus which helped veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko hold on to power, there was a series of protests in which thousands were arrested and all major opposition leaders, including Sviatlana Tsikhounskaya, are in exile.
She fled to neighbouring Lithuania after the election last month. Though she has met the prime ministers of Lithuania, Norway and Poland, Macron is the first prominent Western leader to meet her.
“We had a very good discussion but now we need to be pragmatic and to support the Belarusian people and we will do our best, believe me”, the French president said after the 45-minute meeting at his hotel in Vilnius.
Tsikhanouskaya said Macron had pledged “to do everything to help with negotiations, (during) this political crisis in our country … and he will do everything to help to release all the political prisoners.”
On the other hand, Russia has indicated that it would support Lukashenko as the leader of its closest ally. While expressing sympathy for pro-democracy protesters in Belarus, the West is cautious not to upset Moscow.
