What Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya talked about with Bill Clinton in New York
More than thirty years ago, Bill Clinton came to Minsk at a moment when Belarus still had an open opportunity for a democratic future. Now, the former US president met Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in New York and once again spoke about the hope for a free Belarus.
Bill Clinton met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Dzianis Kuchynski during the Clinton Global Initiative. Photos here and further: Press service of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's Office
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's advisor on diplomacy, Dzianis Kuchynski, was present during the conversation and told "Nasha Niva" what Clinton was interested in and which memories moved him.
A More Substantive Conversation After a Brief Acquaintance
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's meeting with President Bill Clinton took place in New York during the Clinton Global Initiative — at a special presidential reception which gathered current and former heads of states and governments, international leaders, representatives of business and civil society. This year, the CGI meeting was held on September 22-23.
"The Clinton Global Initiative is an international platform founded by President Clinton, which unites political, public, and business leaders around global challenges and concrete initiatives for their resolution. During the UN General Assembly, this is one of the important and prominent venues in New York, where discussions and informal contacts between world leaders and civil society take place," says Dzianis Kuchynski.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been a special guest of the Clinton Global Initiative for several years. She receives invitations from the Clinton family to join the work of this platform and speak at it. This year, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also participated in the CGI program and addressed its participants.
She had met Bill Clinton before. They first met in Washington in 2022 at the funeral of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. At that time, it was limited to a brief acquaintance. In New York, they were able to talk more in-depth and substantively about Belarus.
"I was present during this conversation and saw how sincerely President Clinton was interested to hear what is happening in Belarus today, how our country and Belarusian society have changed, what Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is doing, and how Belarusians continue their struggle for freedom," said Dzianis Kuchynski.
Clinton asked Tsikhanouskaya about her work, the situation inside the country and concerning Belarusians, as well as how the Belarusian democratic movement continues to exist after mass repressions.
The Only American President Who Visited Independent Belarus
A special part of the conversation was the memories of January 15, 1994. At that time, Bill Clinton flew to Minsk for a few hours. He remains the first and so far the only sitting US president to visit independent Belarus. During the visit, he met with the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Stanislau Shushkevich.
The program was packed. Clinton also spoke with the head of government Vyacheslav Kebich and the leader of the BPF opposition Zianon Pazniak, addressed young people at the Academy of Sciences, and visited Kurapaty. There he honored the memory of the victims of Stalinist repressions and left a memorial bench with the inscription: "To the Belarusian people from the people of the United States of America."
The visit was preceded by a meeting between Clinton and Shushkevich at the White House in July 1993. The American president then welcomed Belarus's decision to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The US announced three agreements that provided for the allocation of $59 million to Belarus to overcome the consequences of the deployment of nuclear weapons.
That Belarus was perceived in Washington as a young independent state, renouncing its nuclear arsenal and having a chance to build a democratic system. Several months after Clinton's visit to Minsk, Aliaksandr Lukashenka won the first presidential elections.
"It was clear that the memories moved him"
When Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya reminded him of the trip to Minsk, Clinton immediately brightened up, says Dzianis Kuchynski:
"It was clear that for him this was not just an episode from a thirty-year-old protocol calendar; he recalled the significance of that visit. He immediately remembered Belarus and spoke very warmly and emotionally about that time. It was evident that these memories truly moved him."
According to the advisor, Clinton recalled the hope of the early 1990s that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus would be able to build a free, independent, and democratic future. Therefore, it was especially important for him to hear about Belarus today, after more than three decades of Lukashenka's rule, and what has changed since 2020, when Belarusian society very clearly demonstrated its desire for change.
"President Clinton expressed his support to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Belarusian people and conveyed very warm words to Belarusians. He spoke of his fond memories of Belarus and Belarusians and of supporting the Belarusian people's aspiration for freedom and a democratic future. The main message was very human: Belarusians should not lose hope, the time of freedom and democracy for Belarus will surely come," conveys Dzianis Kuchynski.
"A Very Warm and Human Conversation"
According to him, the meeting had little of formal dryness:
"Overall, it was a very warm and human conversation. President Clinton was exceptionally open, tactile, and clearly with personal warmth perceived everything that concerned Belarus."
Interestingly, this is a continuation of a certain personal Belarusian history of the Clinton family:
"During Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's meeting with Hillary Clinton in Munich two years ago, we showed her historical footage of their visit to Belarus: Minsk, places they visited then, meetings with Belarusians. For Mrs. Clinton, this also became a very personal and touching surprise," the advisor recalls and adds: "Therefore, we are very grateful to President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and the entire Clinton Global Initiative for continuing to give Belarus a voice and an international platform. In conditions when Belarus is being attempted to be hidden behind war, repressions, and geopolitics, it is especially important that at such international forums, Belarus sounds like a separate European nation with its right to a free future."
Dzianis Kuchynski sees historical symbolism in the current meeting. In 1994, Bill Clinton came to Belarus at a moment when the opportunity for a democratic future was opening up for our country, but after that, Lukashenka came to power.
"More than thirty years later, Clinton meets with the leader of democratic Belarus and once again speaks about the hope for a free Belarus. For us, this is a very warm and important sign. This time, we hope, it will truly succeed," summarized Dzianis Kuchynski.