EU refuses to recognize Lukashenko as Belarus president | THE DAILY STAR

The European Union refuses to recognize Alexander Lukashenko as Belarus president after his inauguration that lacked "democratic legitimacy" and Brussels is reviewing its relations with Minsk, the EU's diplomatic chief said Thursday.

Lukashenko's secret inauguration Wednesday triggered fresh condemnation in the West and new mass demonstrations in Belarus that have erupted frequently since the disputed August 9 elections.
The elections were neither free nor fair and "the European Union does not recognize their falsified results," EU high representative Josep Borrell said in a statement. "On this basis, the so-called 'inauguration'" and the new mandate Lukashenko claims "lack any democratic legitimacy," Borrell said.