Biden meets with Belarusian opposition leader as she seeks U.S. support to ...

Biden meets with Belarusian opposition leader as she seeks U.S. support to ...
Biden meets with Belarusian opposition leader as she seeks U.S. support to ...

President Joe Biden met with exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya Wednesday morning, as she tours the U.S. as part of a campaign to ratchet up international pressure on the authoritarian Lukashenko regime.

Their encounter was not advertised in advance as officials tried to balance supporting a democracy campaigner without riling President Putin of Russia

'I was honored to meet with @Tsihanouskaya at the White House this morning. The United States stands with the people of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human rights,' Biden tweeted, with a photo of the two in conversation.  

For her part, Tikhanovskaya, 38, thanked the president for his 'powerful sign of solidarity with millions of fearless Belarusians who are peacefully fighting for their freedom.'

President Biden met Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Wednesday morning. Officials claimed he dropped by her meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan but experts said that was a subterfuge to allow 'plausible deniability'

President Biden met Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Wednesday morning. Officials claimed he dropped by her meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan but experts said that was a subterfuge to allow 'plausible deniability'

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. His security forces launched a crackdown after protests erupted last year following disputed elections

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been in power since 1994. His security forces launched a crackdown after protests erupted last year following disputed elections

Months of protests rocked Belarus after Lukashenko's claim of victory for a sixth term in the August 2020 election, a vote that the West denounced as neither free nor fair

Months of protests rocked Belarus after Lukashenko's claim of victory for a sixth term in the August 2020 election, a vote that the West denounced as neither free nor fair

She has been in the U.S. for two weeks, conducting a string of media interviews and meetings with key administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, head of USAID Samantha Power, and Kelu Chao, the acting head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. 

She wants backing for her campaign against Alexander Lukashenko. The strongman has kept a grip on Belarus since 1994, cracking down on peaceful protests that erupted in the wake of a dispute election last year.  

The White House did not announce a meeting with Biden in advance and it did not appear on the press office daily guidance for Wednesday, as is customary when the president is meeting foreign figures. 

A senior administration official told Reuters that Tsikhanouskaya was meeting for

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