Belarusian Opposition Leader Calls for Western Negotiations with Putin and Lukashenko

Maryja Kalesnikava, a prominent Belarusian opposition leader who has spent five years in prison under Alexander Lukashenko's regime, has caused controversy by calling on Europe to negotiate with dictators when they cannot defeat them. Speaking from the Prague security conference Globsec, Kalesnikava urged the West to begin talks with authoritarian leaders like Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin. Her statement has drawn sharp criticism from segments of both Belarusian and Russian opposition movements, who previously admired her resistance to the authoritarian regime. Kalesnikava became an icon of Belarusian resistance following mass protests against Lukashenko's rule in 2020, when hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets demanding democratic change. The protests were brutally suppressed, leading to thousands of arrests and the exile of many opposition figures. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, maintains power with support from Putin's Russia.