By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Belarusian leader and Russian ally Alexander Lukashenko extended his 31-year rule on Monday after electoral officials declared him the winner of a presidential election Western governments rejected as a sham.

VLADIMIR Putin’s best pal has “won” a sham election with 87 per cent of the vote and is now set to host the Russian dictator’s “unstoppable” new missiles.

Victory “demonstrates your high political authority,” the Kremlin chief gushes about his counterpart in Minsk.