UPDATE - Belarusian Opposition Leader Tikhanovskaya Not On Biden's Schedule - White House

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2021) The public schedule of US President Joe Biden for the coming week makes no mention of Belarusian opposition leader and former presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya.

The Monday public schedule of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken does not mention Tikhanovskaya either. The US State Department did not provide any comment to Sputnik when asked about the possibility of Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland meeting with the Belarusian opposition leader.

Tikhanovskaya said on Friday that she was going to be on a working visit to the United States starting Sunday, July 18, and planned to meet with high-level officials, politicians, and experts.

During a meeting with the Belarusian diaspora in Washington DC on Sunday, Tikhanovskaya said that she was going to ask for action, particularly sanctions, and not just words of support from the US.

The opposition leader plans to meet with US State Department and White House officials, according to a statement released on Twitter earlier this week.

Belarus has been in a prolonged political crisis since incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko secured his sixth term in office in the August 2020 election. The opposition has not recognized the results, claiming that Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was the real winner. The dispute resulted in mass protests across the country, which generally declined by February.

Minsk has opened criminal cases against several opposition leaders and other persons on charges linked to anti-government rallies.

Tikhanovskaya, who is currently based in Lithuania, has emerged as one of the leaders of the Belarusian opposition and its chief representative abroad, where she meets with foreign leaders and high-ranking officials to discuss the situation in the country.