LITHUANIA, May 4 - Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has extended condolences to the people of Belarus over the death of the first Head of the independent State of Belarus, the former Head of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, Professor Stanislau Shushkevich, who passed away on Wednesday.

‘His historical signature on the declaration dissolving the Soviet Union signifies the beginning of the Belarussian sovereignty and a major geopolitical shift in our region. As the first and so far the only Head of the independent and democratic state of Belarus, with his relentless fight for democratic values and freedoms, Mr. Shushkevich had represented both the hope and direction for the democratic future of our neighbouring country. In Lithuania, he will also be remembered as a true friend and supporter of our own fight for independence.

On behalf of the Government of Lithuania and my own, I would like to extend deepest condolences to the nation of Belarus as well as to the family of Professor Shushkevich, his friends and fellow freedom fighters. I am certain that the legacy of Stanislau Shushkevich will continue to live in the hearts and minds of all the free Belarusians, inspiring the rest of Europe to support your continuous fight for a free and democratic Belarus’, reads the letter of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. 

 

Photo credit: ELTA