(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, 24 SET - The European Union refuses to recognise Alexander Lukashenko as president of Belarus, the EU said today, The EU once again reiterates that the 9 August Belarus Presidential elections were "neither free nor fair," and therefore the European Union "does not recognise their falsified results," the EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement. "On this basis, the so-called 'inauguration' of 23 September 2020 and the new mandate claimed by Aleksandr Lukashenko lack any democratic legitimacy," Borrell added.

"The European Union's position is clear: Belarusian citizens deserve the right to be represented by those they freely choose through new inclusive, transparent and credible elections," the statement reads. "We are impressed and moved by the courage of the Belarusian people who continue to demonstrate peacefully for democracy and for their fundamental rights despite the brutal repression of the Belarusian authorities," Borrell underlined.

(ANSA).