Tsikhanouskaya calls on West to punish Lukashenka's regime, not Belarusians

The head of Belarus' United Transitional Cabinet, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, spoke at the European Forum in Alpbach, Austria, about possible restrictions on Belarusians. She urged the West to punish the regime of Aliaksandr Lukashenka, but not the Belarusian people.

During the discussion on the future of the Eastern Partnership, Tsikhanouskaya called for supporting "the European aspirations of the Belarusians". She recalled that before 2020, Belarusians were leaders in the number of Schengen visas received, studied in European universities, made connections, "saw what their life could be." "After the start of the war, I see a dangerous trend in European politics, saying let's ban Belarusian citizens from getting visas, from getting scholarships. This is wrong. It will only help Putin and Lukashenka," Pozirk quoted the politician as saying.

"Stop the transit of goods," Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya suggested. "Introduce sanctions against state banks. But help people keep in touch with Europe".

Tsikhanouskaya also stressed that "Belarus belongs to Europe, not in the shadow of Russia." She also spoke of how "occupation is not only tanks." "Preserving our cultural identity is necessary to counter attempts to deny our existence," the head of the United Transitional Cabinet said. She spoke about the situation in Belarus and the issue of Belarusian political prisoners, who number about 1.5 thousand (according to human rights activists).