{"id":144625,"date":"2025-06-30T12:46:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T09:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/144625\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"pazniak-washington-can-pull-belarus-away-from-russia","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/144625\/","title":{"rendered":"Pa\u017aniak: Washington can pull Belarus away from Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

June 30, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>American support is crucial for Belarus, Zianon Pa\u017aniak, an exiled veteran opposition politician and leader of the Volnaja Bie\u0142aru\u015b movement, said at a conference in Warsaw yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u017aniak expressed skepticism about Europe\u2019s influence. \u201cEurope [operates through] political bureaucracy,\u201d he noted. \u201cEuropean politicians require numerous meetings and resolutions that take months to reach a decision\u2014yet we are in a wartime situation, and Europe fails to respond swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe threat of war has been present for a long time, and [Europeans] are unable to do anything,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pa\u017aniak emphasized that Belarus stands to benefit from Washington\u2019s involvement\u2014and, to some extent, already has. He appeared to reference the pardoning of political prisoners, including those released at the request of US diplomats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Europe has been appealing to Minsk for five years without results, US engagement has produced tangible effects, he noted. \u201cWe are interested in the Americans maintaining contact with [Alaksandar] \u0141uka\u0161enka and his regime, because it still holds the potential to pull the regime away from Russia. It is in our interest for the regime to gain greater autonomy,\u201d Pa\u017aniak said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledged that Washington may be pursuing its own pragmatic interests in negotiating prisoner releases, but stressed that hundreds have already been freed. He pledged support for the American effort, calling it \u201cgeopolitically beneficial\u201d for Belarusians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sierhiej Cichano\u016dski and 13 other political prisoners were pardoned on June 21, with some immediately transferred to Lithuania. The release followed a meeting in Minsk between \u0141uka\u0161enka and Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump\u2019s special envoy for Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minsk has reportedly been engaged in negotiations with Washington since mid-2024 and has pardoned more than 300 imprisoned regime critics since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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