MINSK, 19 April (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko unveiled the details of preparations to murder him and his sons, which involved foreign special services, as he talked to the media on the subbotnik [voluntary labor] day on 17 April, BelTA has learned.
Journalists asked the president to comment about the possible participation of foreign states in the operation in Belarus, and the detention of some individuals in Moscow.
"Why I kept silent on this? Because it's about me and my children. I have repeatedly said that they will continue destabilizing the situation in Belarus; they will not leave us alone. We still do not know much. Today we know more, yet not everything. But I expected such developments," the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the attempts to organize a mutiny first and then a "creeping coup" failed. "What else can they do now? They repeatedly said that everything in Belarus hinges on Lukashenko, and that he needs to be removed. My task is to make sure they will still fail even if they manage to remove me from the post. That's my main task. I have made a decision; we are formalizing it now and will announce it soon. This will be one of the most important decisions of my presidency. It's going to be very serious. So even if I'm not president, I need to make sure they will still fail. I have made a decision. Now I need to formalize it. Most likely it will be the president's decree," the Belarusian leader said.
"The second thing is unacceptable at all. I was silent because it was about me, my family, my children. I did not want to talk about it. But they decided to take on the children. The plan was to capture one son, then another, as luck would have it, and hold them in the cellar. By the way, they prepared the cellar in Gomel Oblast. We already detained a group, they showed what and how they were planning,” the head of state said. “Then we discovered the involvement of the apparently foreign intelligence services, most likely, the Central Intelligence Agency, the FBI. I do not know which of the American services worked here ... We learned about their plans to come to Minsk and to organize an assassination against the president and his children."
Aleksandr Lukashenko said that Russia and others were briefed on the developments to make sure “the retaliation is mind-blowing in case they succeed”.
As for the disclosure of the plot against the president and his family, Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the KGB to share the relevant information with the media.
The head of state also shared some details with journalists: “They were detained in Moscow. They were afraid [to go directly to Minsk]. The USA sent operatives. His last name is [Yuri] Zenkovich. They were afraid to come here after we detained several groups who had already brought weapons here. They went to Moscow. Who else was there? Belarusian national [Aleksandr] Feduta and also [Grigory] Kostusev, who was involved to a lesser extent. He was not detained in Moscow, but here in Minsk alongside some others. This is why we can already disclose some information.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, a request was sent to the leadership of Russia and the FSB directly to assist in detaining these individuals in Moscow. “I asked the president of Russia, and [KGB Chairman Ivan] Tertel asked his counterpart, FSB head Alexander Bortnikov. We had them arrested there. We sent our team of 11 to 12 people there,” said the president.
Aleksandr Lukashenko warned all ill-wishers: “God forbid they hurt my children who have nothing to do with it at all! Not only mine, but yours as well! You see, I was patient, I kept waiting, I drew red lines for myself, redrew them. Now we are going to go hard on them. They will regret every single thing they planned.
“I wonder why the Americans behave this way. After all, no one, except the top political leadership, can authorize to eliminate a president. Only them, not special services. I will say more. I am grateful to Putin. When he spoke with [U.S. President Joseph] Biden, he asked him this question. Putin heard nothing but some mumbling in response! Vladimir Vladimirovich called me and told me about it when I came back from Azerbaijan,” the Belarusian leader said.
The head of state apologized for his emotional reaction, adding: “This has gone too far. This will not be tolerated any longer.”
