President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, referring to the crash of the plane of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he could not say who did it, but he could not imagine that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was the one to blame.
"I can't say who did it. I won't even become a lawyer for my older brother. But I know Putin. He is a prudent, very calm and even slow person, making decisions on other, less complex issues. Therefore, I cannot imagine that Putin did it, that Putin is to blame. Too rough, unprofessional work, for that matter," said Lukashenko as quoted by Belta.
Moreover, Lukashenko noted that many are now trying to "hang" the responsibility for the catastrophe on the president of Russia. But, according to the head of the Belarusian state, the Russian leader has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Additionally, the Belarusian President affirmed that Wagner Group private military company (PMC) leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had never asked him for security guarantees.
"To answer this question directly, I do not have to provide security for Prigozhin. That is the first point. Secondly, we never talked about it in that way," said Lukashenko as quoted by Belta news agency.
The president of Belarus took active part in the mediation of the conflict caused by the Wagner PMC armed mutiny of June 23-24.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, on Wednesday near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver region, a private Embraer Legacy plane, flying from Moscow to St. Petersburg, crashed. All ten people on board were killed. According to the list of passengers provided by the Federal Air Transport Agency, Yevgeny Prigozhin was onboard. The agency also reported that the aircraft belonged to MNT-Aero LLC, which specializes in business transportation.
The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a case on violation of traffic safety rules and the operation of air transport after a plane crash in the Tver region. It is added that an investigation team has left for the scene, all the necessary forensic examinations will be appointed, a set of investigative actions will be carried out to establish the causes of the crash.