Lukashenko Expelled From Moscow :: Charter'97 :: News

On May 9 Alyaksandr Lukashenka was not present at the parade on the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War. According to the official information, the Belarusian leader went back to Minsk on May 8 to celebrate Victory Day in Belarus. However, according to the sources in Moscow, and leading Russian and foreign mass media, Lukashenka was simply driven out from the Russian capital.

“The rumour runs that in reality the situation was more difficult. In fact, Lukashenka has been expelled from Russia. And it was the American side who insisted on that. Its representatives allegedly stated that George Bush does not want to see “dictator Lukashenka” close to him,” the “Moskovskiy Komsomolets” writes.

“Lukashenka’s haste leaving for Minsk was caused by the wish of the Kremlin to avoid a scandal between the hot Belarusian leader and the American leader, who had censured the official Minsk for its policy recently,” the German newspaper “Financial Times Deutschland” wrote.

According to the German daily “Der Spiegel”, George Bush’s statements have become a “sore in the eye” of the Belarusian leader. “First Minsk expressed its strong indignation. The Belarusian leadership told about the interference in the internal affairs of the country. Later on Monday in Moscow Lukashenka underlined that he is not afraid of any revolutions, and that “no revolutions and no banditry are expected in Belarus”, the newspaper informs.

On Monday Lukashenka was not present at the parade, and it was a complete surprise for many people, the “Financial Times Deutschland” writes. The newspaper adds that lots of speculations in this connection are heard behind the scenes of politics, including that Putin could advise Lukashenka to go home. “It is not excluded that Bush has asked the Kremlin leader about this favour himself. Both American and Russian leaders had an informal conversation in Putin dacha. They had discussed all possible topics there”.