France’s leader proposes to invite Belarus' democratic forces to G7 summit – Tsikhanouskaya

French President Macron came up with the idea of Belarusian politicians’ appearing at the upcoming G7 summit, the office of opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya reported on Tuesday.

“I thank Emmanuel Macron for his call to invite the democratic forces of Belarus to the G7 summit. Yesterday, I spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and proposed to be included to the summit,” the press service quotes Tsikhanouskaya.

She also recalls that Macron was the first president with whom she met in autumn 2020 and expresses gratitude for his initiative – ‘both then and now’.

In 2021, the UK took on Presidency of the Group of Seven. This year’s summit is to be held in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on 11-13 June. G7 leaders have gathered together annually since the 1970s, alongside the representatives of the European Union. G7 members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

As reported earlier, during the meeting in Lithuania in early September, opposition politician Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya obtained the support of President Emmanuel Macron. According to Tsikhanouskaya, the French leader told her that France would provide its assistance in the talks on settling the current grave situation and releasing political prisoners in Belarus.