Washington\u2019s refusal to recognize Venezuela\u2019s leadership harms American interests, the Belarusian president has argued<\/p>\n
The United States is in no position to lecture other countries about elections after the controversial victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said.
\nIn an interview with the US network Newsmax, excerpts of which were previewed by Belarusian media on Tuesday, Lukashenko commented on Washington\u2019s strained relations with Caracas, including its refusal to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the country\u2019s legitimate leader.
\n\u201cAmericans are in no position to count votes in Venezuela,\u201d Lukashenko said. \u201cDo you remember how Trump was shoved [aside], as they say, during the previous [2020] election?\u201d
\nThe Belarusian leader backed US President Donald Trump\u2019s long-standing claim that his re-election was \u201cstolen,\u201d describing the process that brought Biden to power as \u201c100% rigged.\u201d Trump\u2019s attempts to prove his case in US courts have failed.
\n\u201cAnd with baggage like that the Americans are refusing to recognize elections in Venezuela, Belarus, or some other place? God bless you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Trump teases land strikes in Venezuela \u2018soon\u2019<\/p>\n
Lukashenko urged the Trump administration to pursue dialogue with the Maduro government and warned against any attempt to overthrow it by force. A US invasion of Venezuela would only unite the population around Maduro, he argued, whereas Venezuelan society is currently deeply divided over his leadership. Such an intervention would risk turning into a prolonged conflict comparable to a \u201csecond Vietnam,\u201d he warned.
\nHe also criticized US airstrikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, saying that \u201cmissiles cannot defeat narcotics.\u201d Effective counter-narcotics efforts, Lukashenko stressed, require cooperation with governments in transit countries.
\nBelarus, he noted, has firsthand experience combating drug flows into Europe, but those efforts have been undermined by deteriorating relations with EU neighbors.
\n\u201cIf somebody puts a noose on your neck to hang you, will you protect those who seek to execute you? Should I protect Europe? Why?\u201d Lukashenko asked. \u201cYou too should not strangle Venezuela. You must find a compromise.\u201d
\nHe rejected US allegations that Maduro is orchestrating drug trafficking to the United States, saying Washington\u2019s claims lack evidence. \u201cWhat I know for sure is that Maduro is not a junkie,\u201d Lukashenko added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington\u2019s refusal to recognize Venezuela\u2019s leadership harms American interests, the Belarusian president has argued The United States is in no position to lecture other countries about elections after the controversial…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t