Lukashenko in Hospital After Meeting With Putin, Opposition Leader Says
Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko was rushed to a Moscow hospital after meeting Vladimir Putin, according to a Belarusian opposition leader.
Belarus 2020 presidential candidate Valery Tsepkalo claimed in a Saturday Telegram post that Lukashenko, 68, was in critical condition at the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow.
He did stress the information his team obtained required further information and that it had not been confirmed.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko seen during the 2nd Eurasian Economic Forum on May 24, 2023, in Moscow, Russia. Lukashenko has reportedly been taken to a Moscow hospital, according to a Belarus opposition leader. Getty
The Telegram message read: "According to the information we have, which requires additional confirmation, Lukashenko after a meeting with Putin behind closed doors, was urgently taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow, where he is currently staying.
"The best specialists were sent to return him from a condition assessed by doctors as critical."
His message continued: "The organized measures to rescue the Belarusian dictator were aimed at averting speculation about the possible involvement of the Kremlin in his poisoning.
"It doesn't matter if he returns to working order or not, doctors warn of a possible recurrence of relapses."
Rumors of Lukashenko's ill health have swirled in the weeks following his appearance at the Victory Day celebration in Moscow's Red Square on May 9.
Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, fiercely dismissed the rumors and told officials in a video broadcast by state-run outlet Pul Pervovo: "I'm not going to die guys."
The Belarusian president has remained in power despite widely disputed election results, which the U.S. and its allies claim were rigged in his favor.
In his Telegram message, Tsepkalo urged Western nations to hold a strategic session to discuss the holding of fair elections in the country.
He added: "We urge Western leaders to schedule a strategic session for the coming days to discuss the elections initiative. We insist that the existing technologies are sufficient to hold fair elections in Belarus in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without regard to the position of the Kremlin."
Lukashenko has aligned himself closely with the Kremlin and has offered support to Russian President Putin for the ongoing Ukraine war.
But according to the London-based international affairs think tank Chatham House, the majority of Belarusians do not support the war.
Only 18 percent of people surveyed in a March poll said they definitely support it and 15 percent stated they somewhat support Russia in the war.
In contrast, 30 percent said they definitely don't support the war and 14 percent mostly don't support it with the remaining stating they are not sure.
The survey was carried out between March 15 and 27 and sampled the urban population and also acknowledged a "fear factor" could have affected results.
Newsweek has contacted Tsepkalo via his Facebook page and the Belarus government by email.
Source: Newsweek
