UK Rejects Belarusian Presidential Election Results, Promises Sanctions

Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters join a "March for Freedom" in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 16, 2020. Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday said the UK does not accept the results of the Belarusian presidential election. Raab’s statement came as 200,000 Belarusians took to the streets of the country’s capital Minsk, demanding that Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, steps down as president.

Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the nation in an unknown location in Lithuania, in an image taken from video released on Aug. 17, 2020. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Headquarters/Handout via Reuters