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Crisis in Belarus

Hard to imagine Belarus coup plotting unbeknownst to US intelligence, says Moscow

Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova pointed to the recent foiled attempt to seize power in the country in a joint operation conducted by the Russian and Belarusian security services

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. The US intelligence community was likely informed about preparations for the coup d’etat in Belarus, a different scenario is hard to imagine, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a briefing Thursday.

She pointed to the recent foiled attempt to seize power in the country in a joint operation conducted by the Russian and Belarusian security services. "The investigation is carried out by the Russian FSB, therefore, it is not within our competences to speak about any additional details or even more so anticipate this investigation and make conclusions about the involvement in the essentially planned act of state terrorism by the US authorities. It will definitely be a subject to investigation. Although it is of course hard to imagine that events of such scale can be organized unbeknownst to US intelligence services. And we do know that those indicted in this case were consulted in Western capitals," she said.

Read also

Belarus opens first-ever case on attempt to seize power

Zakharova added that the detained persons are currently in Belarus and have been indicted. According to her, Russian President Vladimir Putin extensively commented on this situation in his annual State of the Nation Address, condemning these actions.

Belarusian President Lukashenko announced on April 17 that opposition politician Grigory Kostusev, political analyst Alexander Feduta and lawyer Yuri Zenkovich had plotted an assassination attempt on him and his sons. He placed responsibility for the plot on US special services and US leaders. According to Chief of the Belarusian KGB Ivan Tertel, "the plotters planned a coup for this summer, June or July."

Later on, the Public Relations Center of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that FSB officers had foiled the unlawful activity of dual Belarusian-American citizen Yuri Zenkovich and Belarusian national Alexander Feduta in a special operation with the republic’s KGB. According to the FSB, the persons in custody were plotting a military coup in Belarus via a "color revolution" scenario, involving local and Ukrainian nationalists, in addition to physically eliminating President Lukashenko.

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Alexander Lukashenko Maria Zakharova

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