President Joe Biden met in secret with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of Belarus’s democratic opposition party, at the White House on Wednesday.
White House officials did not answer questions by press time on why the meeting was not previously disclosed on the president’s daily guidance, as is customary for meetings with international dignitaries.
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The meeting was only made public after Biden’s “POTUS” account tweeted a photo of the two leaders.
“I was honored to meet with @Tsihanouskaya at the White House this morning,” Biden captioned the photo. “The United States stands with the people of Belarus in their quest for democracy and universal human rights.”
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. pic.twitter.com/SdR6w4IBNZ
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 28, 2021
Tsikhanouskaya thanked Biden in a follow-up tweet “for a powerful sign of solidarity with millions of fearless Belarusians who are peacefully fighting for their freedom.”
“Today, Belarus is on the frontline of the battle between democracy and autocracy,” she wrote. “The world stands with us. Belarus will be a success story.”
The Tsikhanouskaya meeting comes as the Biden administration is weighing another round of sanctions against the Belarusian government and President Alexander Lukashenko.
“In this struggle, world struggle, between democracies and autocracies, it’s very important to show your teeth,” Tsikhanouskaya previously told the Washington Examiner. “At the moment, Belarus is on the front line of this struggle.”
She added in an interview that “they understand only the language of sanctions” and that Belarusian businesses “will put pressure on him.”
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Tsikhanouskaya additionally called on Biden to be a “strong voice now for democratic changes because it’s what you have to defend. Not profit, not incomes. It’s something bigger than just existing profit of your enterprises and of your countries.”
