New German Chancellor Called Lukashenka Dictator Without Legitimate Support Among Population

Olaf Scholz has touched upon the topic of Belarus at a press conference in Berlin.

New Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz called Aliaksandr Lukashenka a dictator, who "has no legitimacy among the population," reports TASS.

Scholz raised the issue of Belarus in the context of the migration crisis at a press conference in Berlin on December 9 at the end of the meeting with the Prime Ministers of the German states.

- It is clear that the dictator in Belarus, which can't be called otherwise, has no legitimacy on the part of his own people and has tried to put pressure through the refugees," said the Chancellor.

According to Scholz's assessment, the flow of migrants via Belarus has now been "mostly stopped" because "the EU and Germany have put a lot of pressure and gave clear instructions to airlines and airports, having spoken to many countries that have sent flights to Belarus".

Germany's new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, also spoke about Belarus during her first visit to Brussels in her new position on Thursday.

"We discussed the situation in Belarus and the situation on our external borders. We agree that the EU should continue to increase pressure on the regime in Minsk," TASS quoted Baerbock.

On Wednesday, December 8, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz officially became the new German chancellor. He won the votes of 395 deputies of the Bundestag, 303 deputies voted against him. He replaced Angela Merkel in this position.