Belarusian Opposition Leader on What Can Stop Putin

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Just tell me how you think this is going to unfold, particularly after the referendum on Sunday? What will happen to your country, Belarus, as you have heard the secretary-general calling it the enabler that will have to be held to account?

SVETLANA TIKHANOVSKAYA, BELARUSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Yes, actually, this Sunday in Belarus will be so-called referendum, so-called because the Belarusian people don’t recognize it as legal and legitimate, because Lukashenko lost his legitimacy in fraudulent election 2020. And this is a referendum about amendments in constitution. And the constitution draft that Lukashenko proposed is very weak and Venice Commission harshly criticized the draft. It states that the constitution only strengthens Lukashenko. But what’s most worrying is that the regime wants to exclude neutrality and non-nuclear status from the constitution. And regime really wants nuclear weapons in Belarus. So, it will put the whole of Europe in danger. So we call for our international allies not to recognize the results of this referendum and not even to mention this.

AMANPOUR: We have just heard that President Biden and President Zelensky of Ukraine have again talked today about defensive weapons, about sanctions. From your perspective, from that region, and knowing firsthand how these strongmen operate, what do you think is going to stop Putin now?

TIKHANOVSKAYA: I think that, with dictators, normal democratic tools are not working. It’s a (INAUDIBLE) course, because, in the 21st century, everything can be sold through diplomacy, through negotiations. But Western countries have sanctions as a very impactful tool to influence dictators’ behavior. And I think that Lukashenko shares the responsibility for this unprovoked war, as the Kremlin’s ally. And I hope that West has learned from its own mistake and will take the toughest measures, not just the words of condemnation, but real sanctions, no more flirting with the dictator. We need sanctions on banks, oil, portage, all the state enterprises that provide Lukashenko with money. And I suppose that the same scheme should be done towards Russian aggression as well.