Dictators 'testing the borders of Europe', Belarus opposition leader tells Euronews
The exiled Belarussian opposition leader says a "quick, bad deal for Ukraine' would endanger the entire security architecture of Europe beyond Kyiv's borders in an interview with Euronews' morning show Europe Today.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/08/dictators-testing-the-borders-of-europe-belarus-opposition-leader-tells-euronews
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00:00Good morning. Welcome to Brussels. First, how is your husband Sergei doing? He was released this
00:05summer after many years behind bars in Belarus. He's going through the process of rehabilitation
00:10because all the political prisoners are really exhausted physically, but he's not broken mentally
00:15and gave a boost of energy to our movement. And of course, it was thanks to the Americans that
00:20helped orchestrate his release. We saw Keith Kellogg there engaging in dialogue with Lukashenko.
00:25Do you trust them now to help end the war in Ukraine? Look, we all want peace. And of course,
00:32I'm so grateful to President Trump personally and his team for releasing political prisoners from
00:37Belarus. But of course, the future of our country depends on the outcome of the war in Ukraine.
00:43And of course, we all want just and long-lasting peace, not just temporary relief to give opportunity
00:50to Russia to regroup and start attacking again. But also, what is important for us is that during
00:56these negotiations, Belarus aspect is also included, that Belarus is not giving as consolation prize to
01:02Putin, that Belarus will not lose our independency. And that's why we need a strong Europe as player
01:09in these negotiations that will be the voice of Belarusian people.
01:13Because a bad deal for Ukraine would be detrimental, I imagine, for Belarus.
01:17Absolutely, yes. We understand that if Ukraine loses this war, hopefully it will not happen and
01:24we'll keep strong alliance around Ukraine. It will mean a status quo for Belarus for rages and
01:31Russia will continue to subjugate our country.
01:33But how would you describe the current talks taking place? We saw three days of talks in Florida
01:37this weekend. There was no breakthrough. Are they really peace talks or are they more surrender talks?
01:42It depends on the strong position of Europe. First of all, of course, you know, President Trump, he might
01:48want fast peace in Ukraine. But for us, it's more about security architecture. It's about region. It's more
01:58than about only Ukraine. It's about all European neighborhoods, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, so on and so
02:04forth. So that's why here Europe has to remain with its strong, bold and firm position and defending and
02:13protecting all our region.
02:16Do you think Europe has been too weak so far in these talks?
02:18I think that Europe is much stronger than it might seem. It might think about itself. But we maybe need
02:30more unity, more boldness, because any hesitation or undecisiveness is percepted as weakness by dictators.
02:39And now we see that Russia, together with the other regimes and Lukashenko, they're testing the borders of Europe.
02:48Well, we can see that. I mean, the EU has been furious as well with these balloon incursions coming into Lithuania.
02:54Lithuania declaring a state of emergency. The Belarusian appointee here in Brussels has been summoned by the commission.
02:59What's going on and what's behind this?
03:01Now, all these metal balloons and drones, it's part of hybrid attacks on Europe, the same as migration crisis and hijacking of airplanes, so on and so forth.
03:14So we see how dictators are trying to blackmail, constant blackmail Europe, just to see how far they can go without a strong response.
03:26And in our case, I think that it's very effective tool to close the borders for trade, for goods, but not for people.
03:35Just be tough on the regimes, but we are very open for the societies.
03:40And Belarus Lukashenko has also been weaponizing migration. We've seen a lot.
03:44Yeah, you know, it's last many years already, and these migration attacks are continuing.
03:50It's also one more, you know, tool in the data's hands, how to weaken or test or blackmail our Western neighbors.
03:59And finally, President Zelensky will travel to London today. He'll be sitting down with Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor, President Macron of France.
04:06Any expectations for those talks today?
04:08I hope that it will be unity around Ukraine about our region that Ukraine will be given everything they need to win this war.
04:20We don't have to follow President Trump's path because his approach is more transactional, but we have to think more strategically about security architecture for years ahead.
04:33Okay, Svetlana Takanavskaya, thank you so much for coming into us today here and speaking to us on Europe Today.
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