USA and EU did not recognize Lukashenko as legally elected President of Belarus

The United States refused to consider Alexander Lukashenko the legally elected president of Belarus. This was announced on Wednesday, September 23, by a representative of the State Department, RIA Novosti, writes "Lenta.ru".

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“The elections on August 9 were neither free nor fair. The announced results were fabricated and did not reflect legitimacy. The United States cannot consider Alexander Lukashenko the legally elected leader of the country, ”the agency's source said, commenting on Lukashenko's inauguration.

On September 23, Slovakia was the first EU country to refuse to consider Lukashenko the legitimate president of the republic. Also, the representative of the German Cabinet of Ministers Steffen Seibert said that Lukashenka cannot count on democratic legitimacy.

According to the CEC, Lukashenko won the presidential election on August 9 with 80% of the vote. For the seventh week in Belarus, mass protests of citizens who disagree with the official results of voting have been taking place.

The inauguration ceremony of Alexander Lukashenko was held in Minsk on September 23, but officials from a number of European states did not recognize the legitimacy of the ceremony of inauguration of Lukashenko as president, writes "Voice of America".

On the subject: 'Self-inauguration operation': Lukashenko secretly took office as President of Belarus

The Charter97.org website (Charter'97) provides an up-to-date list of countries that have made statements.

Estonia. Lukashenka's inauguration is illegitimate and contrary to democratic principles. This opinion was expressed by the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry Urmas Reinsalu.

Denmark. “Lukashenka has confirmed his own illegitimacy by arranging a secret inauguration. Fraudulent elections should lead Lukashenka not to the presidential palace, but to the EU sanctions list, ”said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod.

Czech Republic. “The elections in Belarus were neither free nor fair. Thus, the result is illegitimate, therefore, today's inauguration of Lukashenka is also illegitimate, ”said Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petřicek.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius called Lukashenka's "inauguration" ceremony a farce.

“What a farce,” Linas Linkevičius wrote on Twitter. - Fake elections. Fake inauguration. The former president of Belarus is not becoming less the former. Its illegitimacy is a fact with all the ensuing consequences, ”added the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

According to the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty, Poland does not consider Alyaksandr Lukashenka as a legitimate president, while in Slovakia, Foreign Minister Ivan Korchak said that “Alyaksandr Lukashenka has no legitimacy to run the country”.

Germany does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as President of Belarus even after his inauguration. This was stated by the official representative of the government Steffen Seibert, Deutsche Welle reports.

On the day of the secret “inauguration”, the leading Belarusian Telegram channels called on Belarusians to come out to the central streets of their cities with protests.

Russia: unexpected inauguration

The press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov did not know that the inauguration of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko would take place today, the Moskovsky Komsomolets website reports.

A Kremlin spokesman said he could not comment on how timely and appropriate it was to hold the inauguration ceremony today.

“This is a sovereign internal decision of the Belarusian leadership. Once such a decision has been made, it means it was considered appropriate, ”he said.

Russian political scientists have come to the conclusion that the “quiet” and unexpected inauguration of Alexander Lukashenko means his actual recognition of the high level of risks of protest activity, Interfax reports.

Political strategist Gleb Pavlovsky believes that Lukashenka has demonstrated to the Belarusian society the lack of confidence in himself as the head of state.

“With this strange inauguration, the format of which was unexpected even for his supporters, Lukashenko showed that there are two centers of influence in the country - the authorities and the protesters, and that a significant part of the population of the Belarusian capital does not perceive him as a president. Probably, it is difficult to imagine a more graphic demonstration of the authorities' lack of confidence in themselves than a secret inauguration. This contradicts the very nature of this kind of ceremony, ”he told Interfax.

On the subject: 'I sat out, but I won't just leave': Lukashenko spoke about the situation in Belarus, Putin and Poroshenko

Ukraine: consultation on "inauguration"

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry will hold urgent meetings and consultations to outline Ukraine's position on the "inauguration and political status of Alexander Lukashenko." This was stated by the head of the country's foreign affairs agency Dmitry Kuleba, according to the Ukrinform National News Agency.

“The inauguration was secret. So that you understand, not a single foreign ambassador was invited, not even the ambassador of the union state of the Russian Federation, which fully supports Lukashenko. Therefore, according to the assessment of Lukashenka's inauguration and political status, we will hold urgent meetings and consultations to determine our position, ”Kuleba said.

In an interview with the Slovak economic publication Hospodárske noviny, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the crisis in Belarus affects not only its neighboring countries.

“Events there are already having consequences for Europe. We see that the biggest political crisis in all the years of Belarus' independence has arisen. It is also associated with economic and social crises that are already ripe and showing consequences. If the scenario is negative, it will mean at least hundreds of thousands of refugees from Belarus to European countries, ”said Vladimir Zelensky.

He noted, it is emphasized on the website of the President of Ukraine on September 23, that "fair presidential elections are the best way out of this crisis."

“If the candidates are confident in their victory, then there is nothing to be afraid of another election. These are the actions of the authorities, which are not afraid of their people. I also note that there should be a dialogue with society, violence should be avoided. These are the actions of the government, which cares about its people, ”the President of Ukraine said.

The status has not changed - the president is illegitimate

According to Alena Tolstoy, co-chair of the Razam solidarity movement, regardless of his status, Alexander Lukashenko remains the illegitimate, unrecognized leader of the republic.

“And earlier it was clear that in the eyes of the whole world and Belarusians he was illegitimate, but after today's event he will continue to purge Belarus from all active people and all who resist. We already see that now, like through a fine sieve, people are sifted, recently at least three hundred people have been detained, even disabled people have been twisted. Criminal cases have been opened against 85 of them, others are giving subscriptions that if they are detained on the street again, criminal cases will be opened against them, ”Alena Tolstaya told the Voice of America correspondent.

According to her, since the beginning of the protests in Belarus, at least twelve thousand citizens who disagree with the results of the presidential campaign have been arrested.

“All of them went through various kinds of repression by the Lukashenka regime. The state mechanism in the country is created in such a way as to control the actions of people. This means that not only law enforcement agencies are monitoring the actions of citizens, but starting from kindergarten, people are under control everywhere, and in case of disloyalty to Lukashenka, they can take away the child, there may be a loss of school, work, ”emphasizes Alena Tolstaya.

She believes that Lukashenko will not sit down at the negotiating table with the opposition, and the Western countries have one way out of the situation - to apply economic sanctions against Russia and the Lukashenko regime.

“For Russia, which keeps Lukashenka afloat, the sanctions would be very painful,” the Belarusian oppositionist says.

According to her, Lukashenka will not be able to stop popular protests in Belarus and abroad, despite the fact that he is ready to use force to fight the citizens of the republic.

On the subject: 'Forget about the great empire': Belarusians in the United States urged Putin to abandon support for Lukashenka

The regime is expensive, but the Kremlin has no other candidates

Taras Zagorodny, managing partner of the National Anti-Crisis Group, believes that Russia is ready to leave Alexander Lukashenko in power, but they demand that he carry out constitutional reform.

“Yes, his regime is a little costly for Russia, but the Kremlin has no one to supply but Lukashenka. Therefore, they decided to go the other way - to carry out a constitutional reform, which would allow the formation of pro-Russian parties in the republic to influence Lukashenka, ”Taras Zagorodny told the Voice of America correspondent.

According to him, Alexander Lukashenko will respond to a new wave of protests by the Belarusian opposition after the secret inauguration by "pinning the opposition leaders out", as the Russian authorities do in Khabarovsk.

“In order for the protests to yield their results, the opposition's actions need to be radicalized. We see that during peaceful protests Lukashenka squeezes the opposition and does not give it an opportunity to develop its actions. The authorities have the resources and they can play long, protests do not bother them too much, ”Taras Zagorodny said.

The political strategist says that for a quarter of a century at the head of the state, Alexander Lukashenko felt himself the master of the country, and is not ready to voluntarily transfer power, since he does not trust anyone.

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