EU on course to lift Belarus sanctions despite vote concerns

By Andrei Makhovsky and Robin Emmott MINSK/LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Belarus's election fell short of democratic standards, monitors said on Monday after President Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term, but Europe still looked set to ease sanctions as France and Germany welcomed a lack of political repression. Moves by Lukashenko, including the pardoning of six opposition figures before the election, suggest Lukashenko could be seeking to improve his image abroad to rely less on his ally Russia, wh