them to prepare for the democratic transition. As she said last year, they needed to bring more Belarus to the Council of Europe and more Council of Europe to Belarus. She was very happy that the Contact Group between the Council of Europe and Belarus was established. Through the Contact Group, they had already held an important event on helping independent Belarusian journalists in exile. They were planning events on abolishing gender inequality and violence against women. For leading Belarusian lawyers, they were planning a study visit to the Council of Europe, and youth representatives would participate in an event about the abolition of the death penalty. Ms Tsikhanouskaya was glad that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe did not invite Mr Lukashenko's cronies to its events. There was no place here for criminals. Instead, they invited representatives of Belarusian democratic forces to address the Parliamentary Assembly. She wanted to use this opportunity to ask the leaders of national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly to work with their governments to provide financial support to the Action Plan of the Contact Group. The list of 15 thematic areas was a good and diverse menu to choose from, she said, and they wanted to be practical. Any support would allow them to make a difference already and build a sustainable democracy in the future. Their support today would help them join the Council of Europe at the very soonest. She wanted to conclude by thanking the great host, Iceland, which she described as a small country with a big heart. She said that through the example and active work of Ms Katrín JAKOBSDÓTTIR, Prime Minister of Iceland, Ms Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð GYLFADÓTTIR, the Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Birgir ÁRMANNSSON, Speaker of the Alþingi (Parliament of Iceland), they showed that even small countries could make a huge difference. Having such friends and allies gave Ms Tsikhanouskaya hope and confidence to continue their fight. She was grateful for the invitation to the Summit. She had been given not just a platform, but a voice, for all those who could not speak, but who shared the same values and the same dreams of a free, democratic and peaceful Europe. She thanked the audience to a big round of applause. Mr KOX thanked Ms TSIKHANOUSKAYA for sharing the fears of her people, but also their hope. This Organisation, representing the 46 member States of the Council of Europe, added to that hope. He wished her all the best and was very honoured that she had agreed to be the final speaker in the day’s Standing Committee. He thanked everyone again. Concluding remarks by Ms Katrín JAKOBSDÓTTIR, Prime Minister of Iceland, and Mr Tiny KOX, President of the Parliamentary Assembly Mr KOX invited the Prime Minister of Iceland to the stage for some final remarks for the closure of the unique Standing Committee. He also announced that the next meeting would be in Latvia, Riga, and that they were waiting to start the evaluation about the implementation of what was going to be decided the next day. He asked for Ms Katrín JAKOBSDÓTTIR’s final remarks to the Standing Committee on the eve of this historic Summit. Ms JAKOBSDÓTTIR said the event was already historic because they did not have a lot of summits in this institution. This was the fourth one, held because of the unusual circumstances they were faced with in their continent, because they were faced with grave challenges. She firmly believed that they would have tangible results coming from the Summit, tangible decisions, so they could affirm and strengthen their solidarity with Ukraine in its defensive struggle against Russia's military aggression, as well as to take concrete steps towards accountability for war crimes, to recommit to the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe, while also seeking to motivate it for future challenges. That's what they had been talking about here today. It was very important to talk about what's happening now, but also not forget that they were faced with very grave future challenges. They needed to stay very vigilant. They ended a panel on a note of hope. She had been inspired by the last six months during Iceland's presidency, inspired by the work the Parliamentary Assembly was doing, and inspired by the work that the missions in Strasbourg were doing. She was very hopeful that the Summit would give them good, tangible results and be a step forward.

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