Ukrainian Lawmakers Call For Moving Donbas Talks From Minsk After Lukashenko Inauguration

A multi-party group of Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday called on the government to recall its ambassador to Belarus for consultations and abandon Minsk as a platform venue for negotiations on Donbas settlement following Alexander Lukashenko's inauguration as the Belarusian president

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) A multi-party group of Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday called on the government to recall its ambassador to Belarus for consultations and abandon Minsk as a platform venue for negotiations on Donbas settlement following Alexander Lukashenko's inauguration as the Belarusian president.

Lukashenko was sworn in on Wednesday during a ceremony that had not been publicly announced in advance, prompting escalation of opposition rallies.

"We call on the Ukrainian authorities to provide a clear official position on the 'inauguration' of Alexander Lukashenko; not to recognize his legitimacy as the president of Belarus; to condemn actions aimed at further aggravating the confrontation within the country; to develop a package of sanctions against him, key persons of his regime and those who used violence against peaceful protesters; to recall the ambassador for consultations; and to abandon Minsk as a platform for further negotiations of the Trilateral Contact Group on a peaceful settlement of the situation in eastern Ukraine," the association said in a statement.

The lawmakers also called Lukashenko's inauguration "farce" that be no means could legitimize ballot rigging in Belarus.

In addition, lawmakers called on the Ukrainian media not to use the designation of "acting president of Belarus," but to define him a "dictator" instead.

Lukashenko secured his sixth term as the country's leader as a result of the August 9 presidential elections, which was decisively rejected by opposition and followed by weeks of nationwide protests.