Svetlana Tikhanovskaya met with the US Secretary of State

While in the US, the leader of the Belarusian opposition called for an emergency package for Belarusian independent media to be adopted, to support civil society in Belarus and to increase pressure on the Lukashenko regime. On Monday, July 19, the leader of the Belarusian opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is on a visit to the United States, held talks with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Counselor of US Department of State Derek Chollet. This was reported in Tikhanovskaya's Telegram channel. "They discussed the Ryanair plane hijacking, attacks on civil society and the media, the illegal migration to Lithuania organized by the regime as an attempt to take revenge on the EU," the message says. State Department spokesman: We are happy to support the Belarusian people State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing that during the meeting the parties discussed "ongoing repressions, brutal persecution by the Belarusian regime", as well as "the steps to be taken by the Lukashenko regime ". According to him, "Tikhanovskaya is at the forefront of the opposition movement in Belarus." "And we are happy to recieve her today at the State Department and to continue our efforts to support the Belarusian people and their aspirations for human rights, democracy, and broader Euro-Atlantic aspirations," Price added. Tikhanovskaya calls on Washington to help Belarusians At the meeting, Tikhanovskaya called on the United States to accept an emergency package for Belarusian independent media, video blogs, telegram channels, and journalistic investigations. In addition, she asked Washington to expand assistance to the Belarusian civil society, private business in Belarus, political prisoners and their families, to increase the number of scholarship programs to support students and researchers. The leader of the Belarusian opposition called on the White House, together with partners from the European Union, Great Britain and Canada, to increase economic pressure on Alexander Lukashenko's regime. Also, the ex-presidential candidate of Belarus asked the United States to give a signal to Russia that it "can play a constructive role in resolving the crisis in Belarus," noting that the contracts and agreements signed by Moscow with the Lukashenko regime will not be legally recognized and will be annulled. According to Tikhanovskaya, the United States can take an active part in organizing and holding a high-level conference on resolving the crisis in Belarus. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that details of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's meetings with representatives of the American administration are still being finalized. She pointed out, however, that at present there are no plans for a meeting between the leader of the Belarusian opposition and Joe Biden.