"The UK will continue to support and cooperate with the democratic forces and institutions of the democratic forces of Belarus",  — said Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Pavel Latushka following a meeting with representatives of the UK Embassy in Warsaw. As part of ongoing consultations with the heads of diplomatic missions of foreign countries accredited in Warsaw, Pavel Latushka met with Deputy Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Poland Jennifer MacNaughtan and diplomats of the British Embassy. The Speaker of the Coordination Council of Belarus Anzhelika Melnikova also took part. During the meeting, Pavel Latushka presented detailed information on a number of key issues:  non-compliance with international standards for holding fair and competitive presidential elections in Belarus in 2025. In the near future, a legal assessment from the point of view of both the national legislation of Belarus and international standards will be provided to British partners. This is especially relevant since the Lukashenko’s regime has already begun preparations for another non-competitive election campaign. Civil society in the country is suppressed: there are thousands of political prisoners in prison, all opposition parties, independent media, and more than 1,700 non-governmental organizations have been liquidated — it is impossible to hold elections in these conditions; British partners were informed about the activities of political institutions of the democratic forces of Belarus. Pavel Latushka noted the unified position of the democratic institutions of Belarus in achieving democratic reforms in the country; documents adopted at the III Conference "New Belarus" in Vilnius, which took place from August 3 to 5, were handed over. These documents include the Declaration on Foreign Policy Priorities of Democratic Belarus, the Declaration on Accountability and Restoration of Justice, as well as the Platform  "2025"; Pavel Latushka drew the attention of British diplomats to the growth of political repression in the country. The Speaker of the Coordination Council, Anzhelika Melnikova, spoke during the meeting about the plans of the Coordination Council, including those related to international cooperation. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of partnership between the British Parliament and the Coordination Council, including the organization of familiarization visits to the parliament, training programs and interaction of specialized commissions. Another important topic of discussion was the UK's support for civil society and Belarusian independent media, as well as the simplification of the visa issuance procedure for citizens of Belarus. The speaker noted the importance of the Protocol for Cooperation of Democratic Institutions of Belarus adopted at the "New Belarus" conference: the President-elect, the Office of Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya, the United Transitional Cabinet and the Coordination Council. This document allows for the development of common strategic documents and a common consolidated position of democratic institutions. The speaker also expressed gratitude to the UK representatives for their cooperation with the international human rights organization Libereco, which provides financial, consulting and psychological assistance to Belarusians. Thanks to this cooperation, a large-scale campaign in support of political prisoners was also carried out and more than 40,000 signatures were collected demanding the release of Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski from prison. Anzhelika Melnikova expressed hope for further expansion of cooperation between the democratic forces of Belarus and Great Britain. At the initiative of Pavel Latushka, the issue of bringing Lukashenko and his accomplices to justice for crimes against humanity and war crimes was discussed separately. Representatives of the British Embassy showed particular interest in this topic. Pavel Latushka informed about the preparation of the international conference "Accountability for the crimes and human rights violations in Belarus" which will be held on September 13 in Vilnius, in which Pavel Latushka and lawyers of the NAM are scheduled to participate. An agreement was reached on the cooperation of Great Britain and Belarusian democratic forces on the issue of international justice. Great Britain expressed its readiness to cooperate on this topic both within the OSCE and in bilateral contacts. The meeting of Pavel Latushka with representatives of the British Embassy in Poland showed that the United Kingdom is a consistent ally of the Belarusian democratic forces in the fight for freedom and democracy in Belarus. Great Britain continues to prove its principled position regarding the Lukashenko’s regime.

Pavel Latushka:  Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Head of the People's Anti-Crisis Management, Ambassador Lukashenko said today: « I just want to advise them, as always, if they want to turn the country around and participate in the presidential elections, prove their case or something else, they need to come and fight in the presidential elections ». In your monologue, you remembered me. And I want to answer you. I am ready to take part in the elections for the post of President of Belarus in 2025. I am ready to take part in the presidential elections and tell Belarusians who you are, what you are like. I am ready to talk about what democratic forces are like, what democracy is like. However, I have conditions that you must fulfill : stop the repression in the country and release former candidates for the post of president of Belarus, as well as all political prisoners whom you torture in your prisons. I am ready to participate in the elections if you stop criminal cases against all Belarusians who have been fighting for democracy and freedom in our country for these 4 years, if you cancel all politically motivated sentences imposed against Belarusians. And the sanctions for all this will be lifted.  I am ready to participate in the presidential elections in 2025 if you provide international observation. If international observers, together with independent internal observers, will be at each polling station during the elections.  I am ready, but you are a coward. Of all the things I have listed, you will do nothing. Because you are clearly aware that you have no support in Belarusian society. I will beat you, Lukashenko, even if I am abroad, if you register me as a candidate and ensure independent monitoring of the vote count. It will not be me who will win, but Pavel Latushka, the Belarusian people will win. I am sure that there are many Belarusian politicians who are ready to challenge you and defeat you. But you will not allow anyone to participate in the elections except your lackeys, because you are a cheat. The Belarusian people will never choose you, because Belarusians hate you. You are a coward, a liar and a murderer. The only thing you did not lie about, although you yourself, of course, think otherwise, is that Belarusians will have a new president.

Today, at a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digitalization of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Poland, coordinator of special services Tomasz Siemoniak reported on the "neutralization of a group of saboteurs of the special services" of the Lukashenko’s regime and Russia, which carried out cyber-attacks on the territory of Poland, the purpose of which was to extort information, individual and institutional blackmail and conduct a de facto cyber war. The National Anti-Crisis Management team has recently encountered attempts to illegally obtain information and cyber-attacks, in particular: — On July 26, after Pavel Latushka testified as a victim at the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland in the criminal case "on incitement of an identified person to murder, which was carried out by a person involved in the activities of a foreign intelligence service", several representatives of the National Anti-Crisis Management received a call from a person who introduced himself as an employee of the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland. The caller spoke Polish, but with an Eastern European accent. It was subsequently established that there is no such employee among the employees of the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland and none of the prosecutor's office employees made calls to the NAM employees. It should be noted that the calls were made from the number of one of the departments of the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland, which suggests that someone from the special services of Belarus or Russia was able to connect to the prosecutor's phone number and make calls. We informed the National Prosecutor's Office of Poland about this situation. We note that the above-mentioned situations are not the only attempts to extort information and blackmail NAM employees. — In addition, on the eve of the calls from the "prosecutor's office", third parties tried to obtain personal data of NAM employees through one of the state data storage services in Poland. — In the last week, the website of the National Anti-Crisis Management also faced an unprecedented massive cyber-attack, the purpose of which was to completely stop its functioning. As a result, our website suspended its work for some time, but is currently functioning normally. Deputy Head of the Cabinet, Head of the NAM Pavel Latushka in connection with the statement of the Minister of Digitalization of Poland Krzysztof Gawkowski and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Poland Tomasz Siemoniak on the neutralization of a group of saboteurs of the special services of the Lukashenko’s regime and Russia: — " The saboteurs of the Lukashenko’s regime and Russia's special services, who are carrying out cyberattacks on Poland, the neutralization of which was announced today, are acting on the political orders of dictator Lukashenko. Lukashenko cannot be a partner for democratic countries. He poses a permanent threat to the security of Poland and the member states of the European Union ".

Attempts to illegally cross the state border continue on the Polish-Belarusian border. Lukashenko's regime uses migrants as a political weapon. Since the beginning of this year alone, about 24 thousand attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus to Poland have been recorded. Foreigners from 49 countries of the world tried to break through the border. In August, almost 2.2 thousand such attempts were recorded, in July — more than 1.3 thousand, in June — more than 3.7 thousand. Only on the night of September 5, 2024, about 120 attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus to Poland were recorded, during which attacks were committed on Polish services. The actual illegal crossing of the state border by migrants takes place under the leadership of senior officials of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, subordinate personally to Lukashenko . The State Border Committee is a republican body of state administration, implements state border policy, ensures border security, regulates and manages in this area, and coordinates the activities of state bodies and other organizations in the field of state border policy and border security. Thus, it is obvious that the stay of migrants in the border zone and the actual attempts to illegally cross the state border are organized by decision of the leadership of the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus and by personal instructions of Lukashenko. Earlier, the NAM has already initiated and achieved the inclusion of the leadership of the State Border Committee of Belarus and propagandists involved in the preparation of illegal migration to the territory of Poland in the EU sanctions list and the national sanctions list of Poland for organizing "hybrid aggression" on the Polish-Belarusian border. On behalf of the United Transitional Cabinet , the relevant additional materials prepared by the NAM  on the leadership of the Civil Procedure Code of Belarus were again transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland for the introduction of personal national sanctions. Relevant data on the propagandists of the Lukashenko’s regime, who provide information support for this "hybrid aggression" were also transferred. The materials include 20 security officials and 26 propagandists. In response to the appeal, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland informed the NAM that "the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration sent the above-mentioned appeal to the relevant departments to assess the possibility of sending petitions to include the persons you specified in the sanctions list, in accordance with the law of April 13, 2022 'On special decisions to counter the incitement of aggression against Ukraine and the protection of national security'". We continue our work to ensure that those guilty of carrying out "hybrid aggression" through the organization of illegal migration are held fairly accountable.

The release of political prisoners in Belarus is not a result of concessions from the West, but of principled pressure. This pressure must not be weakened Original article: ipg-journal.io Four years have passed since the Lukashenko regime falsified the presidential elections in Belarus. The regime has held on to power, the mass repressions and terror it unleashed have stifled any significant civil activity in the country, democratic forces are in exile, and the regime's complicity in the war against Ukraine on the side of Russia has fundamentally called into question the existence of Belarus as an independent state, the prospects of which the West views more and more pessimistically. Against this background, the voices of "pragmatists" and "realists" are increasingly beginning to be heard, proposing to look at the situation in Belarus and build an attitude towards it (and towards the Lukashenko’s regime, which de facto holds power in the country) from the point of view of Realpolitik. The most notable in this sense was the former speaker of the Coordination Council, Andrei Yahorau, who during the third conference «New Belarus» literally stated the following: "I would recognize the legitimacy in a certain sense of what is happening in Belarus. I would exchange the presence of, for example, European ambassadors in Belarus if this allows for the release of political prisoners en masse and moves the situation in Belarus towards a more favourable one for the activities of civil society". He later developed his proposal in the article  "Time to change strategy», in which he claims that the strategy of pressure on the Lukashenko’s regime has not brought results, and suggests «abandoning irreconcilable conditions" in Western relations with the regime, which, in his opinion, can provide a number of tools for the release of Belarusian political prisoners. My response to these proposals with an analysis of Andrei Yahorau’s article can be found on the website  of the National Anti-Crisis Management. Here are the key points. The restoration of Western relations with the Lukashenko's regime automatically calls into question his responsibility for the crimes committed Firstly, the restoration of Western relations with the Lukashenko's regime automatically calls into question his responsibility for the crimes committed: mass crimes against humanity against Belarusians, the victims of which were hundreds of thousands of people, the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which is the provision of the territory of Belarus at the disposal of Russia to commit an act of aggression against Ukraine, and a war crime, which is the deportation of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus. Andrei Yahorau ignores this fact, but in fact his proposal means that Lukashenko will not be held accountable for committing the most serious crimes in the understanding of international law. Secondly, by all indications, the Lukashenka regime is not just not moving towards "liberalization", it is actively transforming from authoritarian to totalitarian, where mass repression is the basis of its existence and power. To recognize the legitimacy of what is happening in Belarus, to send ambassadors, to lift sanctions, to refuse to hold Lukashenko accountable means to return his subjectivity and resources, as well as to agree that he will use them to build totalitarianism. And not just to agree, but to contribute to this. This is what a "pragmatic" approach to the West's strategy towards the Lukashenko’s regime really means. Although this is not even about strategy, but about tactics — to recognize the status quo and let the situation take its course. Strategically, this is the way to agree and encourage the functioning of a totalitarian dictatorship in Europe, ignoring mass repression and terror in return for periodic shuffling of political prisoners by the Lukashenko's regime, for which these are not real people, but a deck of several thousand playing cards. In July alone, at least 170 people were convicted in criminal political cases Perhaps the recent "pardon" of 30 political prisoners by the Lukashenko's regime is the main news in the Belarusian information field. I deliberately put this term in quotation marks, since it is incorrect to apply it to the release of people illegally convicted of politically motivated sentences who did not commit any real crimes. As well as calling it an "act of humanism". Of course, the fact that 30 people have escaped from the hell of Lukashenko's prisons is good news. Nevertheless, when we look at the situation in the complex, there are always facts that cannot be ignored. So, in July alone, at least 170 people were convicted in criminal political cases. In total, since the beginning of the 2020 presidential campaign, more than 19 thousand criminal cases of the so — called extremist orientation have been initiated. On August 21-23, after the "pardon", human rights defenders recognized 31 more people as political prisoners. As of August 26, the number of political prisoners in Belarus is 1,372 people. At the end of July, the study  "Barometer of Repression" was presented, according to which the level of repression in Belarus is not just not decreasing, but is breaking records in many indicators. Including the number of confessions of political prisoners — during the reporting period, this figure increased by 80 (!) percent. At the same time, the authors of the study emphasize that almost all the digital characteristics of repression contained in it are minimal indicators. In reality, they will be significantly higher. It is also a fact that the so-called pardon took place precisely against the background of increasing, not weakening, pressure on the Lukashenko's regime. Let me remind you that a new European Union sanctions package was adopted on June 29. Should the subsequent "pardon" of political prisoners be considered a coincidence? Hardly. And considering that Lukashenko received absolutely nothing in return for this, which, for example, Andrei Yahorau writes about, we can conclude that the release of some political prisoners is the result not of concessions from the West, but of principled pressure. At the same time, almost 1,400 officially recognized political prisoners remain in the regime's prisons. Although many politically motivated convicts are not formalized in this status, many refuse it, fearing the consequences in the form of tougher conditions in places of detention. According to human rights activists, the actual number of political prisoners may be two or three times higher. And this number is not decreasing, but growing. The repressions are not stopping, but are intensifying. And in place of the "pardoned" political prisoners, the regime throws new ones behind bars.  Abandoning the principled position towards the Lukashenko's regime, softening it, and easing pressure will only strengthen his confidence in his own impunity  The second conclusion follows from this: abandoning the principled position towards the Lukashenko’s regime, softening it, easing pressure will only strengthen his confidence in his own impunity. Fortunately, so far we see that our Western and European partners are not ready to agree with this. In its statement  in connection with the release of some political prisoners, the European External Relations Service maintains a principled position: "The EU continues to call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners". This, I am convinced, should be our common response to the proposals of "pragmatists" and "realists" on the need to change the strategy towards recognizing legitimacy and abandoning pressure on the Lukashenko’s regime, which has committed and continues to commit numerous crimes. It is time not to change, but to finally adopt a principled strategy for Belarus. A strategy based on international law, on the principle of the inevitability of responsibility for the crimes committed. Aimed at a complete stop to repression and the release of all political prisoners without exception. The purpose of which is the return of civil rights and freedoms to Belarus, ensuring its independence and democratic future, and not the transition into the fourth decade of the preservation of the criminal dictatorship of Lukashenko, which is close to being finalized into a totalitarian one.

Source: pozirk.online Among the people who appeared on the prisoner exchange lists on August 1 was Pavel Rubtsov , who was accused of spying for the Russian Federation in Poland. As the deputy chairman of the United Transitional Cabinet (UPC), the head of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM) Pavel Latushka  told Pozirk, before his arrest, Rubtsov came to interview him. Rubtsov  worked in Poland until February 2022 and introduced himself as a Spanish journalist of Russian origin Pablo Gonzalez. The media reported that Rubtsov-Gonzalez  was detained on February 28, 2022, on suspicion of espionage. « Gonzale z came to the NAM office at least twice to interview me for Spanish publications. I testified as a witness in this criminal case» , — the politician said. According to Latushka , the fact that a «representative of the Russian special services» sat opposite him “at arm’s length” demonstrates, on the one hand, the activity of the Russian special services on the territory of the European Union, and on the other hand, shows the reality of the risks and threats that arise for representatives of democratic forces» .  «This once again confirms the need to strengthen security measures, including self-security for all those who continue to fight against the Lukashenko regime. The risks are absolutely real» , — the head of the NAM emphasized. As reported by  the Russian website «Agentstvo» in November 2023, Pablo Gonzalez, who lived in the Basque Country (an autonomous region of Spain), was detained in February 2022 by Polish intelligence services and accused of working for the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Defense Ministry. Gonzalez (Rubtsov) had been part of the entourage of Zhanna, the daughter of the murdered Russian politician Boris Nemtsov, for several years and wrote detailed reports about her, her friends, and colleagues. These reports became available to the Polish intelligence services. Before the exchange, Gonzalez was imprisoned in Poland. On August 1, the Kremlin press service reported  that Vladimir Putin had signed decrees pardoning Paul Whelan (former US Marine), Evan Gershkovich (American journalist), Kevin Leake (German-born, moved to Russia with his Russian mother), Demuri (Dieter) Voronin (Russian-German political scientist), Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Liliya Chanysheva, Vadim Ostanin, Ksenia Fadeeva, Alexandra Skochilenko, Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov and Oleg Orlov. In exchange, Moscow received Russians convicted in the US and the EU. Among them is intelligence officer Vadim Krasikov , who received a life sentence in Germany for murder; Artem and Anna Dultsev, who were found guilty of espionage and were serving their sentences in Slovenia, as well as Mikhail Mikushin, Pavel Rubtsov , Roman Seleznev, Vladislav Klyushin, and Vadim Konoshchenko.

«More than 65 thousand detainees, deaths in custody and deaths during protests, torture and cruel or inhuman treatment, violence. Lukashenko is a criminal who must be held accountable»,  — said the head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Pavel Latushka during his speech at the XXXIII Economic Forum, which is being held on September 3-5 in Karpacz (Poland). The panel «Responsibility of the Lukashenko regime for international crimes», moderated by NAM Deputy Head  Vladzimir Astapenka , discussed ways to hold Lukashenko and his accomplices accountable for serious international crimes that have been committed since 2020 in order to retain power, including crimes against humanity against the Belarusan people, the crime of aggression against Ukraine, and war crimes against Ukrainian children. During his participation in this panel discussion, Pavel Latushka, head of the NAM, noted that since the protests against the falsified presidential election in 2020, Lukashenko has been pursuing a large-scale, systematic state policy of suppressing dissent. During this time, the Human Rights Center «Viasna» recorded:  more than 65,000 detainees;  5,000 complaints of torture and cruel or inhuman treatment filed by Belarusians. At the same time, there are 0 proceedings to investigate such complaints in Belarus;  at least 636 documented cases of torture;  6 deaths in custody; 5 deaths during protests; 1,371 officially recognized political prisoners; more than 300 thousand Belarusians forced to leave Belarus. Pavel Latushka spoke about the work of the National Anti-Crisis Management team to bring Lukashenko and his accomplices to justice in the following areas: 1. Universal jurisdiction. Within the framework of universal jurisdiction, Belarusians who have become victims of crimes against humanity have filed applications for criminal proceedings in Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Germany. 2. The International Criminal Court. The scale of crimes against humanity has long gone beyond the borders of Belarus — 300 thousand Belarusians were forced to leave the country — this gives crimes a cross-border character, where at least one of their elements is committed on the territory of the countries to which these people fled, including the EU countries, which are member states of the ICC. 3. The International Court of Justice of the United Nations. In light of the ongoing repressions in Belarus, including torture, there are grounds to claim that Belarus has violated its international obligations. The NAM team is also working towards using the International Court of Justice of the United Nations as another institution to hold Belarus accountable for grave human rights violations committed by the Lukashenko’s regime. 4. War crimes. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our team has launched an investigation into the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus, which, as we have established, began long before the outbreak of a full-scale war. In June and November 2023, the NAM transferred communications under article 15 to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. 5. An act of aggression. The issue of Lukashenko's responsibility for the war is of strategic importance. We welcome the resolution adopted by PACE, which approved its demands for the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, and also paid special attention to the fact that representatives of the leadership of Russia and Belarus should be responsible for the crime of aggression. The NAM team is ready to support the work towards a possible tribunal for these crimes. The XXXIII Economic Forum in Karpacz is the largest political and economic event in Central and Eastern Europe. Since 2024, the official partner of the forum is the National Anti-Crisis Management.

Key points of the speech by Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, at the panel "Autocrats in the Neighbourhood: Europe’s Playbook for Democratic Defence" during the GLOBSEC Forum 2024 in Prague, as well as during bilateral meetings with representatives of European foreign ministries. The most effective strategies for countering autocrats both domestically and internationally: In order for a strategy to be effective, the most important thing is to have a strategy. As a Belarusian politician, I speak openly and frankly: I don't think anyone in the West today can clearly articulate to me what are the most effective strategies to counter autocratic leaders in Belarus and Russia. I advocate for a strategy of pressure, a strategy aimed at dismantling Lukashenko's autocratic regime. As a former minister and ambassador, I assert that the previous strategy of democratic countries towards Lukashenko was one of constant repetition, with attempts to cosmetically liberalise the regime. This strategy has failed. Today, the Lukashenko regime has transformed into a totalitarian dictatorship internally and has extended beyond Belarus, committing international crimes: the hijacking of a civilian plane, a migration war against the EU, sending spies and saboteurs into neighboring European countries, taking foreign citizens hostage and using them as leverage, for example, against Germany, and committing acts of aggression.  We must also not forget the issue of nuclear weapons being stationed on Belarusian territory.  Is it possible to agree with the dictator in Belarus, who is the antipode of democracy, so that he would go for gradual democratisation? My answer is clear – no. Democratisation for him is self-destruction.  Long-term pressure on the Lukashenko regime has never been applied before. To retreat from pressure means to repeat the cycle. That is why we need a comprehensive strategy, we need to set the goal of abolishing Lukashenko's regime, and we need concrete actions. All these 4 years, with all my gratitude to the partners in democratic countries, we have seen a slow reaction to the aggressive actions of regimes which escalate the situation and continually raise the stakes. Why do regimes act this way? Dictators only understand the language of force, while democracies still communicate with them in a diplomatic dialect, which is perceived by these regimes as a sign of weakness. We need to force the dictator to meet the demands of Belarusian society: the release of all political prisoners and the conduct of democratic elections. We need to deploy all international and legal instruments. Lukashenko is responsible for thousands of political prisoners, the liquidation of 1,700 NGOs, the destruction of all 11 opposition political parties, and all independent media. He is accountable for political murders, torture of political prisoners, thousands of politically motivated sentences, the deportation of over 300,000 Belarusians from the country, acts of aggression against Ukraine, hybrid warfare, and war crimes, including the deportation of Ukrainian children. All of these, and more, constitute international crimes. My team at the National Anti-Crisis Management and other initiatives have prepared materials and identified tools to hold Lukashenko accountable. Who is ready to take the political decision and refer Lukashenko's case to the ICC? The bandit in Belarus is harming Belarusians and causing damage to you, European countries. Belarusians look at this and wonder: is democracy an effective tool? If Europe wants Belarusians to continue believing in democracy, Lukashenko’s criminal case must be submitted to the ICC this year, before the so-called presidential election. Lessons that can be drawn from the experiences of other continents as well as Europe itself: The main lesson we learn from the experience of democratic transformations in European countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Ukraine, and others - nobody but Belarusians can solve the problem of dictatorship in Belarus. The Belarusian people must return their subjectivity inside the country. This is our task, including for the democratic forces. How can our partners assist us? This is one of the key elements of the possible strategy which I spoke about earlier. The fundamental understanding is that the majority of Russians support the war and support Putin. We must be honest—that is the reality. Unlike Russians, most Belarusians do not support the war and do not support Lukashenko. Where should we start to change the situation — Russia or Belarus? Has anyone thought about this? Everyone is convinced that we must start with Russia. But I say no; we need to start with Belarus. Western experts have convinced politicians that Putin will absorb Belarus.  Putin wanted to eat his main dish, Ukraine, but he will break his teeth on it and leave Belarus for dessert. And I assert:  he will not get to that dessert because 97% of Belarusians want to live in an independent Belarus. Russia does not have the resources today to absorb Belarus, and the Belarusian army will not run to fulfil Putin's orders. To prevent Belarus from being absorbed by Russia, it is important not to let Belarus become North Korea in Europe, it is important not to close the doors to Europe for Belarusians. The political will is needed again:  Sign a declaration of cooperation between Belarusian democratic institutions and the EU. For the first time in Europe, we have a sustainable system of democratic institutions in exile that serve as an alternative to the Lukashenko regime: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the elected president; The United Transitional Cabinet, the executive body of the Belarusian democratic forces; The Coordination Council, the representative body of the Belarusian democratic forces, elected through direct elections in May of this year. Do not close border crossings to passenger traffic. Issue more visas to Belarusians. Significantly increase support for independent media. Russian and Lukashenko's propaganda invest enormous financial resources to change the mentality of Belarusians and turn us into Russians. If this happens, in a few years the fortifications being built by Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia on the border will be needed. Provide 12,000 scholarships at European universities for Belarusians. This is the same number that Russia provides annually. Last but not least. Support Belarusian identity and motivate Belarusians by demonstrating the European perspective and addressing the question of accountability for Lukashenko’s crimes against Belarusians. We will organise underground activities ourselves. We do not need F-16s or Leopards; give them to Ukraine in as many numbers as possible. Hold Lukashenko accountable and give us the opportunity to split the elites. Is the democratic community doing enough to prevent the entrenchment and flourishing of authoritarian tendencies: We keep returning to the lack of a comprehensive strategy: allegedly pressuring the regime, but not enough; imposing trade sanctions, but not creating shocks; harmonizing sanctions against both Lukashenko’s regime and Russia for the war, but not completely; declaring at a high level the necessity of holding Lukashenko accountable, but not applying accountability measures in practice. How does Lukashenko read this? As a weakness from the West. He himself has even mentioned this more than once, even publicly. And yet the regime continues to commit crimes and engage in terrorism. We see a tactic of reactive rather than proactive actions, a tactic without a strategy. And I have already spoken about the elements of strategy. I will add an important point, as I see it. You know, Lukashenko will die tomorrow. Well, not tomorrow, in a year. So what? We need a motivated society, a politicised society, a safely politicised society. Playing games with Lukashenko today is a tactic; he will be gone tomorrow, but the Belarusian people will remain. To ensure they stay Belarusian, a proactive strategy supporting the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian people is needed. We don't need F-16s and Leopards, give them to Ukraine in as large a number as possible. Hold Lukashenko accountable and give us the opportunity to split the elites.

Why do we consistently advocate a strategy of pressure and, I would not be afraid of this word, destruction of the regime of Lukashenko and others like it? The answer is quite simple: the game of give-in, which has been carried out for decades against the Lukashenko's regime, has ultimately led to the fact that he is one step away from transforming into a completely totalitarian dictatorship and has already stepped beyond the borders of Belarus in committing his terrible, truly terrible and most serious crimes in the understanding of international law. In this sense, anyone who says that the strategy of pressure on Lukashenko's regime does not work because it has allegedly failed to achieve results in 4 years is making a strategic mistake in his conclusions. Why? Long-term pressure on Lukashenko, even in its current, still truncated form, has never been applied before. So what are we comparing it to?  At the same time, it is precisely the strategy of concessions to Lukashenko's regime, a game of give-in, de-escalation if you will, that not only did not lead to the liberalization, moreover, the democratization of Belarus. Quite the opposite. Behind the visible episodes of a brief «thaw» there was always a readiness to stifle any disobedience by any means. And readiness to go further, to go even beyond the borders of the country in their terror. Up to participation in military aggression. What is happening, because regimes like Lukashenko's are characterized by confidence in their impunity, in the fact that Western democracies are weak, not united, and will sooner or later break and give up their positions. And this confidence is based precisely on the experience of all previous rounds of confrontation with the West. Precisely on the experience of using those strategies of appeasement, give-in, realpolitik, which the West operated.  Even today, it is still impossible to say that some strategy has been finally adopted in relation to the Lukashenko regime and others like it, aimed at stopping them.  And if something does not work, it is the lack of such a strategy. With all gratitude to our Western partners for their help, it is worth admitting that they still do not have a coherent strategy, because there is no clearly articulated goal, the desire to achieve which would be clearly demonstrated in action. We are still seeing not only a failure to make proactive decisions, but even a delayed reaction to the actions of aggressive regimes that escalate the situation, constantly raising the stakes. The regime will not go for democratization, because democratization for it, even in a liberal, truncated form, is a path to self-destruction. The reason for this is very simple. The Lukashenko’s regime and its like understand only the language of force. While Western democracies still have not fully learned it and often still speak to them in a diplomatic dialect, which is perceived by such regimes solely as a manifestation of weakness. And this is important: it is important exactly how your actions are perceived by the enemy, how he reacts to them. It is necessary to analyze exactly this and, in accordance with this, strengthen precisely those actions, those directions that force the enemy to back away. And don't stop, don't leave him room to maneuver. Because as soon as you give him that space, he counterattacks. The strategy of pressure, forcing the aggressor to fulfill its conditions, bringing it to responsibility — this is an absolutely working strategy. It is precisely because the aggressors themselves exist and act according to the «right of the strong», according to the principle of «who is stronger is right». Therefore, any other strategy with regard to them simply cannot work.   But neither Lukashenko's regime nor Putin's regime has ever adopted and applied the strategy of actions from the position of strength. That is why there is no result. Or rather, it is obvious — this is a full-scale war in Ukraine, this is a hybrid war on the border with the EU and these are mass repressions in Belarus, the most massive in modern history, in the history of post-war Europe.

Assistance in bringing the Lukashenko’s regime to justice for crimes against humanity against the Belarusian people and for war crimes in Ukraine was discussed during a meeting between   the Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management Pavel Latushka  with the Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE Ludwig Bontell  and diplomats of the Swedish mission in Vienna. Pavel Latushka informed the Swedish diplomats about the work of the institutions of the democratic forces of Belarus, preparations for the election cycle in 2025, and Lukashenko's role in the aggression against Ukraine. Particular attention during the meeting was paid to possible bilateral contacts on organizing consultations with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the use of international instruments to bring Lukashenko and his accomplices to international criminal responsibility for the most serious international crimes, including crimes against humanity against the Belarusian people and war crimes in Ukraine. Pavel Latushka provided detailed information on the activities of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and the National Anti-Crisis Management in collecting evidence on the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Belarus and transferring evidence to the International Criminal Court, as well as on compiling materials and prospects for using international law instruments to hold Lukashenko accountable for crimes against humanity. Separately, they discussed Lukashenko's active role in continuing to assist Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the importance of the international community's response to these criminal actions of Lukashenko, which violate the UN Charter. The Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE emphasized that Sweden stands on the side of the democratic forces of Belarus, advocates for intensifying cooperation with democratic institutions created by Belarusian society, and does not consider it possible to hold any high-level or other meetings with representatives of the Lukashenko’s regime. Pavel Latusha also informed about the situation related to the expulsion of two Belarusian citizens from Sweden and emphasized the importance of preventing actions that could lead to tragic consequences for Belarusian citizens who participated in the protests, due to the fact that Belarus has no justice system at all and mass repressions have been launched against representatives of society who disagree with the actions of the Lukashenko’s regime. As a first step to prevent such actions in the future, Pavel Latushka asked to convey to the Swedish Foreign Ministry and the Swedish Migration Agency a proposal to consider the possibility of introducing a moratorium on the deportation of Belarusian citizens from Sweden to Belarus. Pavel Latushka noted that these precedents influence the perception by Belarusians of the reality of support from democratic countries for representatives of Belarusian society who continue to fight the Lukashenko’s regime. Pavel Latushka thanked the Swedish representative for the fact that the Deputy Ambassador of Sweden was present at the hearing of Andrey Gnet's case in the Belgrade court and asked for support for efforts aimed at the release of Andrey Gnet. An agreement was reached to continue consultations both within the OSCE and at the bilateral level.

Pavel Latushko: Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management, Ambassador Back in March 2022, while instructing the new director of the Belarusian Potash Company, Aleksey Skrag, Lukashenko said "now working on the potash market will be akin to trading in weapons and other special equipment. Everything must be quiet". Lukashenko personally admitted that he has something to hide and demanded silence. The trade in potash fertilizers has always been maximally monopolized and closed. Thus, according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of March 29, 2022 No. 189, legal entities can export potash fertilizers only under exclusive licenses issued by the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade on the basis of decisions of the Council of Ministers. That is, random people simply won't be able to get into this market. But does such a scheme work everywhere in the world? And is it possible to improve the lives of all Belarusians, and not just some of them, like Lukashenko, Sheiman and the like, without privatizing the largest state enterprises, which Lukashenko's propagandists are so frightening us with? It turns out that it is possible. And a very good example is a truly social state, which is located in Europe and is not yet part of the European Union. And this state is Norway. To manage the portfolio of state shares in licenses issued for geological exploration and production of oil and natural gas on the continental shelf in Norway, the state company Petoro was created, which is also vested with the right to exercise control over the activities of the Norwegian state oil and gas company Equinor. All profits received annually by Petoro from state shares in oil and gas fields in Norway are transferred to the State Pension Fund, which was created in 1990 to invest the income of the Norwegian oil sector. The Norwegians realized that simply throwing petrodollars from a helicopter is not very rational. Firstly, because inflation will begin, and secondly, because in the absence of incentives for development, everyone will relax. Therefore, the Norwegians directed part of their income to infrastructure, and they decided to invest all surplus petrodollars in the state pension fund. Thus, Norway's natural resources form the pension and social fund of this Scandinavian country, and its natural benefits are used not only by individual oligarchs and people especially close to the country's leadership, but by all its permanent residents. Another good example of reasonable and fair management of national wealth is the Alaska Permanent Fund. This is a fund created by the state that manages profits from oil production. 25% of the state's profits from oil turnover go to this Fund. Half of the income is directly distributed among Alaska residents through dividends. Each resident receives the same amount annually. The payment is recalculated each year and depends on the oil revenues of the last five years, as well as on the number of people in the corresponding year who should receive the funds due. The funds received by each Alaska resident average about $2,000 per year. The money is credited to people in a special bank account. The "oil rent" can be spent on various purposes: education, car fuel, a ticket for a trip, or transferred to a pension fund. In these two examples, we see that national wealth can and should be managed more rationally and fairly.

The latest EU sanctions package targets several individuals from the Lukashenko regime responsible for repression against Belarusians. Among those sanctioned by the EU is «Judge» Tatyana Shotik. We informed the relevant EU authorities of this individual's criminal activities in April 2023, which led to the imposition of personal sanctions, and we also shared this information with Belarusians. Tatiana Shotik was involved in political repression before 2020. She started handling political cases before the 2020 elections: in 2019, she fined former presidential candidate Vladimir Neklyaev and activist Marina Adamovich for taking part in protests against integration with Russia. Since the summer of 2020, the so-called «judge» has been regularly used for political repression. At least 200 people have been arrested on the basis of Shotik's rulings, and have spent a total of over 2,000 days in detention. «Judge Shotik issued several politically motivated verdicts against Belarusian citizens who opposed the war in Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime and the repression and violence of the security forces. She ignored the basic principles of a fair trial and blatantly deprived the «defendants» of their basic procedural rights. As a judge in the Leningrad District Court in Minsk, Tatiana Shotik sentenced political prisoners and unlawfully imposed the following sentences: Igor Karpitsky — 7 years of imprisonment in a high-security colony; Vitaly Borisevich — 6 years of imprisonment; Andrey Novitsky — 5 years and 4 months of imprisonment; Alexander Nurdinov — 4 years of imprisonment; Roman Kononovich — 4 years of imprisonment; Igor Lednik — 3 years of imprisonment; Ilya Pirozhkov — 3 years of imprisonment; Yuri Senkov — 3 years of imprisonment; Alexander Demyantsev — 3 years of restricted freedom with placement in an open-type correctional facility («probation period»); Artyom Medvedsky — 3 years of «probation period»; Sergey Kravchuk — 3 years of «probation period»; Dmitry Taratynov — 2 years and 6 months of «probation period»; Konstantin Zaremba — 2 years of imprisonment; Anastasia Butkevich — 2 years of «probation period»; Vladimir Melnik — 2 years of «probation period» And this is only a small list of those whom Shotik has managed to sentence. On 5 August 2024, the European Union imposed sanctions against Tatiana Shotik, stating: "Tatiana Shotik is a judge who has been working at the Leningrad District Court of Minsk since 2021, having been appointed by Alexander Lukashenko. She has handed down politically motivated sentences against Belarusian citizens who have spoken out against the president and the brutality of Belarusian police. Igor Lednik, a political prisoner whom Shotik sentenced to three years in prison, died on 20 February 2024. Thus, Tatiana Shotik is responsible for serious human rights violations or repression of civil society and democratic opposition in Belarus" . Like all other individuals sanctioned by the EU, Shotik is banned from entering the European Union or transiting through EU countries. We understand that this is the minimum punishment for the shattered lives and destinies of people, including those caused by Tatiana Shotik. But it is another step towards real justice and retribution. The responsibility for crimes against Belarusians will reach everyone involved in these actions.