I would like to thank each of you [MEPs] for standing by not only Belarus and Ukraine, but also Georgia, Moldova and Armenia, Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

She said that Western assistance to these countries was vital.

“I always say that unconventional times require unconventional solutions. Last year, we took such a step together. We signed a memorandum of cooperation between the democratic forces of Belarus and the European Parliament, and this was a clear message to my people, Belarus is Europe.

From your own history, you know the true value of solidarity when your homeland is occupied. I would like to thank each of you for standing by not only Belarus and Ukraine, but also Georgia, Moldova and Armenia.

We all stand in a zone of uncertainty, asking ourselves who will stand with us for our freedom. Will our countries ever be safe and free if we remain in the shadow of a giant, a power that does not respect us, does not recognize our sovereignty, and denies us our place as the free nations of Europe? Should we sacrifice ourselves, offer everything to the giant in the hope that this will stop him, that he will get what he wants and not move forward? But we know history: Empire has an insatiable appetite,” he said.