EU Does Not Recognise Lukashenko's Legitimacy but Dialogue Will Continue

Brussels does not consider Alexander Lukashenko legally elected, but he controls the government, just like Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, EU diplomat Josep Borrell said. The European Union does not recognise the legitimacy of Alexander Lukashenko, but sees the need to continue diplomatic communication with him. “Lukashenko is like Maduro,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais. A link to the publication appeared on his Twitter microblog on Sunday, August 23rd. According to Borrel, "we do not recognise him (Lukashenko. - Ed.), But we must conduct a dialogue with." Lukashenko is in the same position as the head of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, Brussels does not believe that they were legally elected. "Whether you like it or not, they control the government and we must continue dealing with them, although we do not recognise their democratic legitimacy," Borrell said. Belarus must not become a second Ukraine “The case of Belarus is incomparable with the case of Ukraine,” Josep Borrell stressed. He recalled that during the Euromaidan Ukrainian "demonstrators carried European flags," while Ukraine was facing a choice between the European and Russian directions in foreign policy. “The EU does not intend to turn Belarus into a second Ukraine,” the head of European diplomacy stressed. “The problem of Belarus is not to choose between Russia and Europe but to achieve freedom and democracy,” Josep Borrell said. Brussels supports Belarusians striving for political reforms but does not want to "act as a destabilizing factor." Earlier, on August 13, Borrell called on the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to stop repressions against people and start negotiating with the society. If this does not happen, Borrell pointed out, the EU will have to reconsider relations with Belarus and ultimately adopt sanctions against those guilty of violence, illegal arrests and falsified election results.