Tsikhanouskaya raises political prisoners with OSCE chief over his Minsk visit

In brief

• Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya met OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu in Dublin on 13 November.
• They discussed his early-November visit to Minsk, where he met Lukashenko.
• Tsikhanouskaya asked the OSCE to press Minsk on political prisoners, repression and Russia's war against Ukraine.

Meeting in Dublin

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya spoke with OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioglu on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Dublin on 13 November (Тихановская — генсеку ОБСЕ: «Диалог с Минском должен начинаться с вопроса политзаключенных» – Salidarnasć) («Диалог с Минском должен начинаться с вопроса политзаключенных». Тихановская - генсеку ОБСЕ, который недавно встречался с Лукашенко – Zerkalo) (Тихановская и генсек ОБСЕ обсудили его визит в Беларусь – Reform.news). The conversation centred on his earlier visit to Minsk, where he met Alexander Lukashenko in early November.

What Tsikhanouskaya asked for

According to her press service, Tsikhanouskaya urged the Secretary General to press Minsk firmly on three issues during any further contacts: the release of political prisoners, a full end to repression, and an end to Russia's war against Ukraine.

She said every contact with the regime should help produce concrete results, namely the release of people, an end to persecution and steps toward peace.

Background

Sinirlioglu attended the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security in early November, which is how his trip to Belarus came about. The OSCE has kept a channel open to Minsk even as Western governments have restricted engagement with Lukashenko's administration.

The exchange shows the opposition continuing to lobby international bodies on prisoners and repression, and its demand that dialogue with Minsk be tied to concrete outcomes. No outcome of the Dublin talks has been announced.