US Officially Does Not Recognize Lukashenko as Legal President

The United States has officially declared that it does not recognize Alexander Lukashenko as the legal president, according to a statement from a State Department representative. This was reported by RIA Novosti. "The elections on August 9 were neither free nor fair. The reported results were fabricated and did not reflect legitimacy. The United States cannot consider Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimately elected leader of the country," the representative stated while commenting on Lukashenko's inauguration ceremony.

On September 23, Lukashenko secretly assumed the office of the President of Belarus. The inauguration took place at the Independence Palace in Minsk.

It is worth noting that presidential elections were held in Belarus on August 9. Following the closure of polling stations, mass protests against election fraud began across the country. All opposition candidates' headquarters declared that they did not recognize the official election results.