BRUSSELS: The European Union does not recognise the `democratic legitimacy` of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after his re-election last month, the bloc`s top diplomat said on Thursday.

`He will remain president de facto. Yes, de facto. But we deny democratic legitimacy based on a result that cannot be verified,` EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a press conference in Brussels after a meeting of the bloc`s foreign ministers.

`We believe that the electoral victory that he`s claiming was not endorsed, it`s not approved. And therefore we have no reason to believe it,` Borrell added.

He also said that the EU would continue to maintain relations with Maduro`s Venezuela, as it does with other countries where it does not recognise the democratic legitimacy of leaders, such as Nicaragua.-AFP