International reactions to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and 2020–2021 protests

The following is a list of the official reactions to the 2020 Belarusian presidential election and the surrounding 2020–2021 Belarusian protests.

International organisations Not recognising election result High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi issued a joint statement. The joint statement condemned the police violence following the election and stating that the EU would monitor further developments. The EU later stated that it would re-evaluate its relationship with Belarus. EU foreign ministers at an emergency video meeting on 14 August agreed to bring in new sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for "violence and falsification". Members of the European Parliament issued a joint statement on 17 August, stating that they did not recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the president of Belarus and considered him a persona non grata in the European Union. The European Parliament also expressed its support for sanctions imposed against Lukashenko and members of his government. On 19 August, following a meeting of heads of government, the European Council issued a statement declaring that "The 9 August elections were neither free nor fair, therefore we do not recognise the results". In an interview on 22 August, Borrell explicitly stated that the European Union does not recognise Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, in the same manner that it does not recognise Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Borrell reiterated this position at a meeting of the European Parliament on 15 September 2020. On 17 September 2020, the European Parliament recognised the coordination council as the "interim representation of the people" of Belarus.

Expressing concerns United Nations Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the UN was following post-election developments with great concern, calling on the Belarusian authorities to show maximum restraint and to ensure full respect for the rights of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet also condemned the violent response. She stated that the reports of ill-treatment during and after detention were "disturbing", reminded the Belarusian Government "of the absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment of detainees", and saw the detaining of bystanders and minors as "suggesting a trend of massive arrests in clear violation of international human rights standards". On 17 March 2023, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report according to which there were "sufficient grounds to believe that systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed in Belarus", and "some of the violations may also amount to crimes against humanity". The report cited violations including excessive use of force, torture and arbitrary arrests as part of a "campaign of violence and repression" against protesters opposing the government. Pope Francis in his address on 16 August appealed for dialogue, and for people to refuse violence and to respect justice and rights. The OSCE Chairmanship on 17 August reiterated its concerns about the conduct of the Presidential election on 9 August, which could not be observed by the OSCE's ODIHR, the disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters, widespread detentions, torture and mistreatment by the security forces, and asked for a visit to Belarus for the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Edi Rama and the incoming OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde to meet with the government and representatives of the opposition. Pan-European political parties European People's Party, Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, Greens–European Free Alliance and European Conservatives and Reformists Party in a joint statement condemned government-instigated violence and repressions of political protest, and called for political reform and new elections. Heinz Bierbaum, the President of Party of the European Left party expressed solidarity "with the protests against the autocratic system where democratic elections are a farce since years". The European Broadcasting Union condemned police attacks against local and foreign journalists, demanding that freedom of expression in Belarus be respected as a fundamental human right as provided in numerous international instruments, including Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Joint multi-national statements The foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden) in a joint statement condemned the violence urging for it to end immediately, and stated that they believe the elections were neither free nor fair. On 15 August 2020, the prime ministers of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) called on Belarus to conduct new, "free and fair" elections supervised by international monitors. The foreign ministers of four EU member states; Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Poland jointly called for an EU video conference to discuss a united position for the bloc on Belarus. The Visegrád Four Central European states agreed on 18 August that Europe needed to take a unified and hard line against the Lukashenko regime. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Lublin Triangle (Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine) issued a joint statement expressing deep concern with the escalation of the situation and called upon the authorities to refrain from the use of force and to release all those detained, as well stating their availability for any assistance or good offices in facilitating mediation.

Countries Positive reaction to the election Countries that criticised the protests On 14 August 2020, Russian spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova stated that the protests were a result of "outside meddling" from foreign states to "create a rift in society and destabilize the situation". On 15 August, Lukashenko spoke with Putin on the phone. Lukashenko later claimed that "at the first request, Russia will provide comprehensive assistance to ensure the security of Belarus in the event of external military threats".

Countries that congratulated Lukashenko Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev congratulated Lukashenko on his re-election during a phone call. at the United Nations Human Rights Council called the recent election "transparent and fair". General Secretary and President Xi Jinping congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reiterated the island's solidarity with the "legitimate president of that country, Alexander Lukashenko, and the brother Belarusian people." was the only country besides Venezuela to vote in favor of the Lukashenko government at the UNHRC. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sent a telegram to Lukashenko. The telegram reads: "The result of the election, which was held in a complicated political situation, proves the people's support of your strategic course aimed at strengthening of the sovereignty and independence of Belarus." President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. President of Moldova at the time of the election, Igor Dodon, congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. Dodon was later defeated in the 2020 Moldovan presidential elections by Maia Sandu, who condemned the events in Belarus and aligned herself with the European Union. at the United Nations Human Rights Council welcomed the election of Lukashenko, condemned other countries for alleged interference, and asked "the international community to support the government of Belarus". President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and vice president Rosario Murillo congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of greetings to Lukashenko on the occasion of the national day of Belarus. Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq sent a telegram congratulating Lukashenko on his re-election as president. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent a telegram to Lukashenko congratulating him on his re-election. Putin has since stated to Lukashenko that Russia would follow a collective military pact with Belarus if needed, while not expressly endorsing the Belarusian president. President of Syria Bashar al-Assad congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. The disputed President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election.

Countries with limited recognition that congratulated Lukashenko President of South Ossetia Anatoliy Bibilov congratulated Lukashenko.

Countries maintaining military cooperation The following countries participated in military cooperation with the Belarusian government following the election:

Disregarded congratulations The Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, congratulated Lukashenko on his victory in the presidential election. This was later disregarded due to the decision to formally not recognise the result by the Bosnian Presidency (Bosniak Šefik Džaferović and Croat Željko Komšić) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bisera Turković.

Negative reaction to the election Countries recognising Tsikhanouskaya as the winner Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda spoke with Tsikhanouskaya by telephone to offer his support for the coordination council she formed to facilitate the transfer of Power in Belarus. On 12 August, Lithuania opened its borders for people fleeing Belarus. The Lithuanian foreign affairs committee voted on 12 August to declare Mr Lukashenko's claim to the presidency as illegitimate. The resolution also called on NATO and EU member states to do the same. It was approved with 120 members votes in favor, none against, and two abstentions. President Nausėda reiterated that Lukashenko is no longer the legitimate leader of Belarus on the following day. On 15 August 2020, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius referred to Lukashenko as the "former president" of Belarus. On 20 August, Lithuanian prime minister Saulius Skvernelis invited Tsikhanouskaya to his office and publicly referred to her as "the national leader of Belarus". On 10 September, a resolution was adopted in the Lithuanian Parliament which recognises Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as "the elected leader of the people of Belarus" and the Coordination Council as the "only legitimate representatives of the Belarusian people". The resolution also declares that Alexander Lukashenko is an "illegitimate leader" and accuses Russia of interfering in Belarus's sovereignty.

Countries not accepting election result Albania, as an EU candidate state, has aligned itself with the European Union position declaring that elections were neither free nor fair and condemning the violence. Austria is bound by the European Council decision on 19 August to condemn the 9 August elections as neither free nor fair, and therefore does not recognise the results.