“I had an adenovirus, I won’t die, don’t worry.” This was how Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expressed himself on May 23, trying to put an end to rumors about his alleged illness. Today, those rumors are circulating again following the words written on Twitter by the Belarusian opponent Valery Tsepkalo, former candidate for the presidency of the country, former ambassador to the United States and husband of Veronika Tsepkalo, also a candidate against Lukashenko in 2020: «According to the preliminary information, subject to further confirmation, Lukashenko was rushed to Moscow’s Central Clinical Hospital following his closed-door meeting with Putin. Leading specialists have been mobilized to address his critical condition,” Tsepkalo explains.
A staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko, 68, reappeared in public on May 15 after an absence of nearly a week and after missing the Flag Day ceremony for the first time since he assumed the highest office of the state of the former Soviet republic, 29 years ago. The appearance of him, with a showy band on his arm, hadn’t dampened the doubts of those who believed he was seriously ill or, even, that he had been poisoned. Some thought that it was the Kremlin that tried to kill Putin’s satrap. Hypotheses that are found in the words of Tsepkalo, who wrote on Twitter that in the hospital where he is hospitalized “blood purification procedures were carried out” and that “the efforts orchestrated to save the Belarusian dictator aim to dispel speculation about the alleged involvement of the Kremlin in its poisoning”.
In any case, Lukashenko’s conditions were deemed “so serious as to advise against the transfer” and the Belarusian opposition wants to be ready in case the dictator should pass away. For this reason Tsekpalo, as a representative of the Democratic Forum of the Republic of Belarus, “strongly urges Western leaders to convene a strategic session in the coming days to discuss the “Elections” initiative and other measures to be taken to ensure the transition period » because «holding the elections at such a critical moment will not only help restore law and order in the future Belarus, but will also lay the foundations for stabilizing the situation on the borders of the European Union and the world».
After the rumors, fueled by Belarusian dissidence, however, Alexander Lukashenko reappears with a message, published by his press service and released by Tass, in which he wishes the leader of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and all Azeris on the occasion of the national day of Country, Independence Day. “I am deeply convinced that the strategic partnership between Minsk and Baku, which is based on mutual interest and traditionally friendly and trusting ties, will continue to strengthen, acquiring new forms and directions,” he writes.