Former presidential candidate, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Presidential Adviser for National Security Jake Sullivan, asked to introduce new sectoral sanctions against Belarus, in particular with regard to the steel, fuel, woodworking industries, as well as potash ...

This is reported by the Axios information portal.

According to journalists, US officials expressed concern about the possible effect of such measures for ordinary residents of the republic, but Tikhanovskaya said in response that they already “suffer” under the rule of President Alexander Lukashenko.

The opposition leader backed up her request with the words that the United States has a certain "moral duty" to support the Belarusians, who are allegedly at the forefront of the world struggle between autocracy and democracy.

At the same time, in an interview with Axios, Tikhanovskaya acknowledged the loss of interest in the situation in Belarus from Washington and Brussels since the protests of 2020.

“My task during these official visits is to say:“ Listen, I understand that Belarus has disappeared from the field of view of the world community.

In those days, all of you were inspired by the actions of our people.

But the processes continue.

People no longer take to the streets, not because they surrendered, but because they were suppressed with violence and weapons, ”Tikhanovskaya said.

She believes that under the leadership of Alexander Lukashenko, the republic will become "the second North Korea, where no one has the right to express their opinion," or Russia will swallow it.

At the same time, according to Tikhanovskaya, the support of the Kremlin is one of the pillars on which the Lukashenka regime allegedly rests.

“We have no idea what is going on behind the curtain - what Lukashenka is selling to buy the loyalty of the Kremlin.

Enterprises, banks ... perhaps even our independence, "- quoted the opposition leader Axios.

American tour 

Tikhanovskaya arrived in the United States on July 18.

In her Telegram channel, she said that she had met with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and State Department adviser Derek Scholle.

She later had a meeting with the head of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kela Chao, to whom she asked for funds to support opposition media and journalists in Belarus.

“Tikhanovskaya urged to create a special fund under USAGM to support news media, media influencers, small information initiatives that cover events in Belarus,” Tikhanovskaya said in her Telegram channel.

  • Svetlana Tikhanovskaya at a meeting in the US Congress with Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Michael McCole, representatives of the Foreign Relations Committee

  • Instagram

  • © prezident.sveta

In addition, the oppositionist made a proposal to restart the Voice of America service in Belarus.

Tikhanovskaya believes that this "will be a powerful signal to Belarusians from the United States and will create an additional source of information about how other countries support Belarus in response to the regime's propaganda."

It is worth noting that Tikhanovskaya also counted on communicating with US President Joe Biden, but the White House reported that such a meeting was not in the plans of the American leader.

At the same time, Tikhanovskaya also spoke about the US “debt” to the Belarusian opposition in an interview with CNN.

“The United States has a moral duty to support us, and I ask the United States, on the one hand, to help civil society survive, because it is quite difficult, incredibly difficult to fight inside the country,” Tikhanovskaya said, stressing that only new sanctions against Belarus.

“Without putting pressure on the regime, without political and economic isolation, it will be much harder for us to achieve our goal,” she explained.

It is worth noting that Tikhanovskaya has repeatedly called on the leadership of the EU and the United States to introduce new sanctions not only against officials of the Belarusian government, but also against important state sectors of the country's economy.

Thus, speaking in early June at the American Congress, she called for restrictive measures against leading Belarusian enterprises, including Belaruskali and the Mozyr Oil Refinery.

According to Tikhanovskaya, pressure on these enterprises may become an impetus for the beginning of the transit of power in Belarus.

The rhetoric of the oppositionist was commented on by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova, calling her "unprecedented meanness."

“The Belarusians work at these enterprises!

How can you ask to aim at people, at your own citizens, who have been creating an internal product for years, decades ?! "

- wrote the diplomat in her Telegram channel.

Unrecognized winner

Recall that in 2020 Svetlana Tikhanovskaya nominated herself for the presidential elections in Belarus.

According to the Central Election Commission of the republic, 10.12% of voters voted for it.

The incumbent head of state Alexander Lukashenko was supported by 80.1%.

The Belarusian opposition refused to recognize the election results, accusing the authorities of falsifying the election results, and Tikhanovskaya declared herself the winner.

Mass protests began in the country, which often escalated into riots and clashes with the police.

Later, Tikhanovskaya left Belarus and went to Lithuania, from where she now makes statements as the leader of the opposition, and also holds meetings with European and American politicians.

On her initiative, the so-called Coordination Council of the Opposition was created, which declared its goal to ensure the transfer of power in Belarus.

  • Opposition demonstration in protest against the results of the presidential elections in Belarus

  • © REUTERS / Vasily Fedosenko

According to the deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State Pedagogical University Vladimir Shapovalov, the current position of Tikhanovskaya is “betrayal of the interests of her country and people”.

“Each new sanctions measure against the country causes economic damage to every Belarusian.

It is not at all surprising that the flag of the collaborators of the Great Patriotic War was chosen as the symbol of the Belarusian opposition movement.

At the same time, one should not assume that American officials are worried about the Belarusian people.

Blinken and Sullivan, unlike Tikhanovskaya, understand the consequences of the introduction of these measures and thus prompt their ward not to show excessive zeal in the process of multiplying Belarusians by zero, ”the expert noted.

The White House administration certainly has no moral obligations towards Belarus and its opposition, Shapovalov added.

“Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is a cog that is used in the Western machine of pressure on Belarus, as Guaido was once used in relation to Venezuela.

However, as soon as the need disappears or this mechanism wears out, they will find a replacement for it.

At the same time, the Washington authorities will not have any obligations to Tikhanovskaya, and at best they will provide her with some kind of refuge on their territory, "the political scientist said to RT.

In turn, associate professor of Moscow State University Boris Mezhuev, in an interview with RT, noted that such appeals from Tikhanovskaya speak of the weakness of the opposition.

“The moment of revolution has passed, it could have led to a change in the political regime in Belarus last year, but today the situation has already stabilized and Tikhanovskaya clearly cannot take advantage of it,” the expert emphasized.

Four packages of sanctions have already been introduced against Belarus, and requests for additional measures can hardly be called effective, says Boris Mezhuev.

“The effectiveness of Tikhanovskaya's actions is highly questionable, but she needs to take such actions in order to continue to demonstrate her leadership in the opposition.

But this path does not lead to anything - just as in Russia, these oppositionists and forces did not receive significant support from the population.

Politicians appealing to other states with requests to launch a sanctions attack against their country have never been successful, ”the expert concluded.