Tsikhanouskaya due in Helsinki on a visit on Tuesday

The Belarusian opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, will visit Helsinki on Tuesday and Wednesday at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, said an official press release on Monday.

During her visit, Tsikhanouskaya will meet with President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Speaker of Parliament Matti Vanhanen, as well as members of the delegations of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council.

The visit also includes other meetings and a discussion event organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

“Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has given a face to the Belarusian opposition. She defends the right of Belarusians to democracy. I have the utmost respect for her work”, said Haavisto.

Finland supports democracy building in Belarus. Finland finances the work of an international accountability platform, which collects and stores evidence of human rights violations committed by the Belarusian regime.

Finland also supports the Belarusian European Humanities University, which operates in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Earlier in March, 2021, President Sauli Niinistö met Belarusian opposition leader SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya in Helsinki.

In August, 2020 Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto met with the Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Heorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (Svjatlana Tsih’anouskaja) in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.