FM meets Belarus opposition leader in Vilnius

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto on Saturday met with the Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (Svjatlana Tsih’anouskaja) in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and discussed the situation following the 9 August controversial presidential election in Belarus.

Haavisto is now on a two-day official visit to the Baltic countries of Lithuania and Estonia, said an official press release.

The foreign minister in a Twitter post on late Saturday night said he had held bilateral talks with his Lithuanian counterpart Linas Linkevičius on Saturday.

He also met with Tsikhanouskaya and discussed the present situation in that country following the controversial election held on 9 August.

Tsikhanouskaya has been living in Lithuania since contesting in the 2020 presidential election, while her husband was sentenced to imprisonment in Belarus.

“I held a fruitful discussion with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linkevičius in Vilnius. We discussed various issues including Nordic-Baltic cooperation. I also met with the Belarusian opposition presidential candidate Svjatlana Tsihanouskajaa,” twitted Haavisto in Finnish, adding that the Belarusian opposition leader wants a dialogue with the government of her country.

Haavisto is scheduled to visit Tallinn on Sunday and meet his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu. They will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, Belarus situation, and topical foreign policy issues, among other things.

Earlier, on 25 August, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö expressed concern at the situation in Belarus following the controversial presidential election, which failed to meet international criteria and urged for a peaceful solution of the crisis through dialogue.