The US Says Alexander Lukashenko Is Not The Legitimate President Of Belarus – By Christopher Miller (Buzzfeed) / Sept 23 2020
The State Department said Lukashenko’s Aug. 9 victory was “fraudulent” as protests across the country continue.
Eight months ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in a historic visit to Minsk that their meeting was “a solid first step towards improved relationships and closer ties.”
On Wednesday, the US State Department said it did not consider Lukashenko, the embattled Belarusian strongman who has led the country with an iron fist for 26 years, to be the president of the country any longer.
“The United States cannot consider [Alexander Lukashenko] the legitimately elected leader of Belarus,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday.
The spokesperson reiterated that the US did not believe that the Aug. 9 presidential elections in Belarus were free or fair. “The announced results were fraudulent and did not convey legitimacy,” the spokesperson said.
Continue to article: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/us-belarus-president-alexander-lukashenko-win-not-legitimate
