The European Union does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, the bloc's diplomatic chief said on Tuesday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the rogue leader.
The European Union's
top envoy for foreign affairs, Giuseppe Borrell, told the European Parliament
in the August 9 election that returning the veteran to power was a sham.
Lukashenko has faced
strong opposition from the international community for his brutal crackdown on
protesters by his security forces, and for his rule by the international
community.
"The situation is
clear to us. We call the August 9 election a fraud," Borrell told
parliament.
"We do not
recognize Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus."
The European Union (EU)
has said in a statement that it does not approve of Lukashenko's election and
is in the process of imposing sanctions on those responsible for rigging the
vote and blocking protests.
More than 7,500
peaceful protesters have been detained’ and 500 incidents of violence have been
documented’ Borrell said.
But diplomats say EU
sanctions on Belarus are being blocked’ by Cyprus, which is demanding first
steps against Turkey in the dispute over natural gas exploration in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
Borrell said the EU's
reputation was in jeopardy and called on member states to pass sanctions -
which require a unanimous vote - before their summit in Brussels next weekend.
On Monday, Russia
agreed to a 1.5 billion loan with Minsk, and President Putin told Alexander
Lukashenko that the people of Belarus should resolve the crisis without foreign
intervention.
Putin said he believed
Lukashenko's proposal for constitutional reform was logical and timely.
Demonstrations, some of
which have been characterized’ by violence, have gripped the country for five
weeks after anti-Kremlin placards were displayed at some rallies.
Also on Monday, the UN
Rights Council agreed to host an urgent debate on reports of violence by
authorities during the protests.
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