US President, Belarus opposition delegates meet in Washington

"Imagine that you are Bush and what you can do for Belarus", US President George W. Bush told a Belarusian opposition delegation during a meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Alexander Milinkevich, the head of the Belarusian delegation, noted that the sides talked about the support to the media in Belarus, BELSAT TV channel and the civic society. “We also discussed the issues of foreign policy coordination when dealing with the Lukashenka regime," Milinkevich said.

The meeting lasted one hour instead of 40 minutes as initially scheduled.

US Ambassador to Belarus Karen Stewart was also present at this White House meeting

Milinkevich also said that apart from meeting the US president, the Belarusian delegation held a press conference at the offices of the Radio Liberty and met with the Belarusian Dyaspora.

The US Congress yesterday held a special hearing titled "Belarus: From Dictatorship to Democracy". The Belarusians also had a meeting with the leadership of the Marshall Foundation, visited the International Republican Institute, the National Endowment for Democracy and talked with the German Ambassador in the US.

The Belarusian delegation comprised Alexander Milinkevich, the leader of the For Freedom Movement, Anatol Lyabedzka, the leader of the United Civic Party, youth leader Pavel Sevyarynets, Syarhey Kalyakin, the chairman of the Belarusian Party of Communists, Anatol Lyaukovich, the deputy chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party (Hramada), Zmitser Khvedaruk, one of the Malady Front leaders and Enira Branitskaya, a former political prisoner, according to Charter'97