The Russian Federation declined to comment and called the issue of the date of the inauguration an internal matter of Belarus.
Neither Slovakia, nor Lithuania, nor Poland recognized Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus even after his inauguration. The action itself was called a farce in the countries.
Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korchok said on his Twitter page that Lukashenka has no legitimacy to rule Belarus.
“He is responsible for the presidential elections in Belarus, which were neither free nor fair. Slovakia stands with the citizens of Belarus,” Korchok wrote.
https://twitter.com/IvanKorcok/status/1308704843045974016
His Lithuanian colleague Linas Linkevicius noted that even after the secret inauguration, Lukashenka continues to be a former president.
“Such a farce. Forged elections. Forged inauguration. The former president of Belarus has not become less former. On the contrary. His illegality is a fact with all the ensuing consequences,” the head of the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry wrote.
Such a farce. Forged elections. Forged inauguration. The former president of #Belarus does not become less former. Quite the contrary. His illegitimacy is a fact with all the consequences that this entails.
— Linas Linkevicius (@LinkeviciusL) September 23, 2020
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland also made a statement that Lukashenka could not be considered the legitimate president of Belarus, no matter what his oath was.
“The Foreign Ministry takes into account today’s events in Belarus. A president elected in non-democratic elections cannot be considered legally acting, regardless of whether his oath was secret or official,” the ministry said on Twitter.
Press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, in turn, noted that the date of the event is an internal matter of Belarus, so it is not advisable to comment on this. According to the politician, he was not notified of this in advance either.
“The protocol presence of foreign leaders at the inauguration ceremony of the Belarusian president is not provided,” Peskov answered when asked about the presence of Vladimir Putin at the event by The Eastern Herald representative.
Germany also refused to recognize Lukashenko as president of Belarus, as reported by the Reuters edition.
The German Foreign Ministry added that they want to speed up the process of introducing sanctions against a number of Belarusian officials.
Later, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu also wrote on his Twitter page about Lukashenka’s loss of his mandate.
“Today’s illegitimate inauguration of Lukashenko runs counter to all principles of democracy. Lukashenko has clearly lost his mandate,” he said.
Today's illegitimate inauguration of #Lukashenko goes against all principles of democracy.
Lukashenko has clearly lost his mandate.
We call upon free and fair elections for people of #Belarus to get the president they deserve.
— Urmas Reinsalu (@UrmasReinsalu) September 23, 2020
Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek also noted that the elections in Belarus were not fair, and their results are not legitimate.
“Therefore, today’s inauguration of Lukashenka is also illegitimate. Belarusian civil society has the full support of the Czech Republic. Belarusians deserve freedom, ” RBC Ukraine quotes him as saying.
The head of the Danish Foreign Ministry, Eppe Kofod, supports the same idea. He noted that Belarus needs a new president, and the old one, because of the falsifications, is waiting not for the presidential palace, but for European sanctions.
Let us remind you that today the Belarusian dictator Lukashenko at the inauguration ceremony took the oath of the “president” of Belarus, to whom he declared himself with the help of the Central Election Commission controlled by the Central Election Commission.
The date of the event was kept secret until the last moment.
Putting his right hand on the Constitution, Lukashenko said the “oath” in Belarusian.
