The EU says it does not recognize the results of Belarus' Aug. 9 presidential election — and that it will impose sanctions on individuals 'responsible for violence, repression and election fraud.'
"The people of Belarus want change and they want it now," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference following the meeting.
Lukashenko's main opponent in the race, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, was forced to flee the country after the results were announced. She initially conceded defeat from exile but has since since called for international mediation to resolve the political standoff. In recent days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered unspecified"security assistance" to Lukashenko's government, even as his security forces were denounced at home and abroad for violently quashing peaceful protests.
Lukashenko also announced on Tuesday that Belarusian forces were being deployed on the western borders in response to criticism from Belarus' NATO-member neighbors there — Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
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