May 4, Pozirk. Belarus’ opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja is in Yerevan, Armenia, to attend the European Political Community Summit.
She has already met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiha, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Romanian President Nicusor Dan, according to her X posts.
Cichanoŭskaja will take part in the summit’s events “as an invited Belarus guest,” the politician’s press office said. Among other things, she will participate in a conference called Yerevan Dialogue 2026, organized by the Armenian foreign ministry.
“The host of the summit is Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia,” press office said. “President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council António Costa, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni and many other leaders have also arrived in Yerevan. For the first time, the Prime Minister of Canada will take part in the summit.”
This is the fifth European Political Community Summit where Cichanoŭskaja will represent Belarus but the first one in Yerevan. She has never visited Armenia before.
“Ladies and gentlemen, today I am in Yerevan at the European Political Community Summit together with more than 40 European leaders — presidents, prime ministers, heads of state,” Cichanoŭskaja said in a video post. “And for me it is a great honor to represent Belarus and the Belarusian people. I am here to speak about Belarus, about the fact that the Belarusians are not the regime, that Belarus is not Russia. And that we are part of Europe.”
Cichanoŭskaja noted that she will use the summit to raise issues relating to Belarus’ security and independence, support for Ukraine, and the “need to preserve European unity.” She stressed that “we should not only isolate the regime but also support the Belarusian people.” “Separately, I will speak about the liberation of political prisoners — this is our top priority,” she said. “And about the next steps — how to strengthen Belarus’ independence and ensure accountability for the regime’s crimes.”
According to Cichanoŭskaja, her objective is to “keep Belarus at the center of international attention.”
