Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is visiting Finland

During her visit, Tsikhanouskaya will meet with the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the Speaker of Parliament Matti Vanhanen, as well as members of the delegations of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament, the Council of Europe and the Nordic Council. The visit also includes other meetings and a discussion event organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

“Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has given a face to the Belarusian opposition. She defends the right of Belarusians to democracy. I have the utmost respect for her work”, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.

Finland supports democracy building in Belarus. Finland finances the work of an international accountability platform, which collects and stores evidence of human rights violations committed by the Belarusian regime. Finland also supports the Belarusian European Humanities University, which operates in exile in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Inquiries

Sampo Saarinen, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 (0)295 350 404

Sirpa Oksanen, Director, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 (0)295 350 472

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.