Amid weeks-long speculation that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin intends to eventually annex Belarus, the leader of that country’s pro-democracy opposition told Newsmax that it would be “impossible” for that annexation to occur.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been in exile since losing to Belarusian President and Putin ally Alexander Lukashenko in 2020 elections many experts say were fraudulent, spoke to us at the White House between meetings with Biden Administration officials.
We cited a recent interview with Lithuanian politician Zygimantas Pavilionis, an influential member of that country’s parliament and former ambassador to the U.S. and Mexico, in which he voiced speculation that Putin was planning to annex Belarus in much the same way Russia annexed portions of Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014.
“It’s impossible!” shot back Tsikhanouskaya, “We [the Belarusian people] will never let it happen.”
After being declared the loser to Lukashenko, Tsikhanouskaya, 38, fled to exile in Lithuania with her children. Her husband is being held in jail in Belarus.
Although she did not meet with President Biden, the opposition leader did meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and held press briefings at the Atlantic Council and National Press Club.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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