Belarus, opponent: Lukashenko in critical condition – Europe

“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 words written on Twitter by Belarusian opponent Valery Tsepkalo, former presidential candidate 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 were mobilized to address his critical condition,” Tsepkalo said.
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.
His appearance, with a showy arm band, had not 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 on 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 “conducting elections at such a critical moment will not only help restore law and order in future Belarus, but also lay the foundations for stabilizing the situation on the borders of the European Union and the world.”