US President Joe Biden on Saturday (local time) spoke with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya aboard Air Force One and assured continued support for the Belarusian people in defending and advancing human rights, a White House press release said.
The press release read, “President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., spoke with democratic opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya of Belarus from Air Force One. He thanked her for attending his speech in Warsaw tonight. The President underscored the continued support of the United States for the Belarusian people in defending and advancing human rights, including freedom of expression, and free and fair elections.”
Protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime lasted for a year from 2020 to 2021 for alleged voter fraud. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Belarus had hosted Russian troops under the pretext of military drills. Russia later launched its troops into Ukraine from Belarus in order to invade the country from the north.
