In a major development, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who is currently in Moscow, has been taken to hospital amid reports of being “poisoned” after holding a crucial meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Notably, 68-year-old Lukashenko has been one of Putin’s closest allies ever since he launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in February last year.
Although there was no official confirmation from either side, Belarus’ opposition leader Valery Tsepalko alleged in a social media post that Russia was behind the alleged poisoning of Lukashenko.
“According to our information, Lukashenko spent several days at the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow. He was rehabilitated. The last available information on Lukashenko’s condition and hospital stay was on Saturday,” Tsepalko wrote in a lengthy Twitter post.
Russian doctors signed a “non-disclosure letter”
He claimed that Russian doctors refused to let him on the plane and that he had no knowledge of how, when and what he was returned to in Minsk. According to him, the doctors signed a “non-disclosure letter”.
Furthermore, the Belarusian 2020 presidential candidate claimed that Russia is hiding information in order to give Putin a “clean chit” from his alleged involvement. However, he did not present any evidence in support of his claims.
“We cannot be distracted by the temporary presence of Lukashenko. The issue of transition of power is a matter of months, if not weeks. The session emphasizes the need, the United States and other stakeholders. To focus on the strategy of working out the concepts of the transitional period and new elections,” stressed Tsepalko.
“It is clear that the Kremlin is afraid of speculation about his involvement in his deteriorating health. The best doctors were gathered from all over Moscow, and they were clearly told by the special services, “If he dies, We all go down with him.” Information about his health status will be available only on Monday.”
Is Moscow behind the poisoning?
It is noteworthy that this was not the first time that the President of Belarus had fallen seriously ill in Moscow. Earlier on 9 May, when he visited Russia on its Victory Day, several media reported that Lukashenko was seriously ill and that he had cut short the Victory Day appearance in Red Square on 9 May. .
However, he reappeared in public on 15 May, where he was seen attending a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council with Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. He said in the video, “I’m not going to die, guys”. However, this time, it is important to assess whether he suffered a natural illness or was it an attempt by Moscow.
Earlier this week, when Lukashenko met Putin, they signed an agreement on Thursday to formalize the deployment of Moscow’s strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus territory, although control of the weapons remains in the Kremlin.