Representatives of Germany and France Confirmed the Need for Pressure on Lukashenka's Regime
- Admin of the NAM
- Jan 28
- 3 min read
The head of the group for a democratic Belarus in the Bundestag adheres to the position on the need to continue sanctions and political pressure on Lukashenka's regime in order to achieve changes in its internal repressive policy – this was noted during a meeting of the Coordination Council delegate and member of the Belarusian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Pavel Latushka with the head of the German Bundestag delegation to PACE Knut Abraham during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Coordination Council delegate Pavel Latushka, as part of the delegation of democratic forces represented by six members of the CC, is taking part in the PACE winter session, which is being held from January 26 to 30 in Strasbourg.
During the session, Pavel Latushka held a meeting with the head of the German Bundestag delegation to PACE and head of the group for a democratic Belarus in the Bundestag Knut Abraham.
The representative of the German parliament, who is simultaneously the head of the group for a democratic Belarus in the Bundestag, assured that his position remains unchanged: it consists in the need to continue sanctions and political pressure on Lukashenka's regime in order to achieve changes in its internal repressive policy. The German deputy noted that throughout its history, the regime has repeatedly used negotiations with the European Union, made minor changes, and then returned to its previous practice of repression.
Knut Abraham agreed with the approach on the need to achieve the start of dialogue with civil society and democratic forces of Belarus.
During the meeting, an agreement was reached on further work to bring representatives of Lukashenka's regime to justice for committing crimes against humanity against Belarusians. Possibilities for expanding cooperation between the Coordination Council and the group for a democratic Belarus in the Bundestag were also discussed.
Pavel Latushka informed the German representative about the upcoming elections to the Coordination Council, which will take place in May 2026. Knut Abraham noted the uniqueness of the situation when the democratic forces of Belarus have their own representative body – the Coordination Council, whose delegation can work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and emphasized the importance of preserving it.
Pavel Latushka also held a meeting with France's Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe Pap Ndiaye. The French representative emphasized that his country adheres to an approach of systematic and consistent support for the democratic forces of Belarus. He also noted the importance of the Coordination Council having its own delegation in PACE.
During the meeting, Pap Ndiaye assured that France will support the democratic forces of Belarus and emphasized the need to pay more attention to the situation in the country within the framework of the Council of Europe.
Pavel Latushka thanked France for its leadership on human rights issues and preservation of the principles of international law, and also conveyed to his interlocutor information about the situation with political prisoners in Belarus and the ongoing repression. The parties discussed possible steps for the release of political prisoners.
Separately, Pavel Latushka emphasized that the United Transitional Cabinet appeals to France and other European partners to use the full potential of the sanctions mechanism of pressure on Lukashenka's regime to force it to make real, rather than cosmetic, changes to the internal political situation in Belarus and begin dialogue with civil society, as prescribed in the EU Council conclusion of February 2024.
Pavel Latushka, together with other members of the delegation of democratic forces of Belarus to PACE, also took part in meetings with the delegations of the parliaments of Croatia and France.
Comments