Tsikhanouskaya calls on Niinistö

President Sauli Niinistö on Tuesday met Belarusian opposition leader SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya at his official residence Mäntyniemi, said the President’s Office in a press release.

“An interesting conversation on the current situation in Belarus. On the agenda were in particular the possibilities of the OSCE to advance the creation of an internal dialogue in Belarus,” said Niinistö about the meeting.

Tsikhanouskaya is now on a visit to Helsinki from 1 March to 4 March, hosted by Member of Parliament Ilkka Kanerva, the honorary chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

During her visit, she will participate in a Finnish Institute of International Affairs discussion on the situation in Belarus. In addition, she will meet with Finnish state leaders.

Earlier, on August 29 last year, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto met Tsikhanouskaya (SvjatlanaTsih’anouskaja) in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and discussed the situation following the 9 August controversial presidential election in Belarus.

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

Earlier, on 25 August, 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.