Germany to accept top Belarus opposition figures Babaryka and Kalesnikava
Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
Germany will take in Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kalesnikava and Viktar Babaryka, who were released by the regime of Belarus’s self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko, Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on German television, reports Tagesschau.
During his appearance, Dobrindt recalled that the release of the political prisoners was made possible through US mediation. In exchange for the release of 123 people, the US lifted sanctions on the export of Belarusian potash.
“This example shows that we need to get along with the Americans,” the minister said.
Dobrindt also added that Germany is interested in strengthening the Belarusian democratic movement in exile.
“And that is why we will take in the two most prominent opposition politicians who have been imprisoned today,” he said, specifying that he was referring to Kalesnikava and Babaryka.
Release of political prisoners in Belarus
On December 13, following talks with the US, Lukashenko announced an amnesty for 123 political prisoners. Among those released were well-known Belarusian opposition figures Viktar Babaryka and Maria Kalesnikava, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, and many others.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Belarus, John Cole, said that approximately another thousand Belarusian political prisoners could be released in the coming months.
Meanwhile, on December 14, Belarusian opposition figures held a press conference in Chernihiv, during which they thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and made several statements, including on the war in Ukraine.
