Belarusian president says Putin cannot be behind plane crash that killed Wagner head

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin cannot be behind Wednesday’s plane crash that killed Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“I can't say who did it. I won't become a lawyer even for my older brother. But I know Putin. This is a prudent, very calm and even slow person, making decisions on other, less complex issues. Therefore, I cannot imagine that Putin did this, that Putin is to blame. Too rough, unprofessional work, for that matter,” Lukashenko said at a news conference in Minsk, according to state news agency Belta.

Lukashenko said that Prigozhin never asked him to provide “security guarantees” for himself, adding that he doesn’t have to ensure Prigozhin’s safety and that talks he held with him never went in this direction.

“Wagner lived, Wagner is alive and Wagner will live in Belarus, no matter how much someone doesn’t want it,” he said.

Lukashenko said that he and Prigozhin had already built a system on how Wagner would be stay in the country. “As long as we need this unit, they will live and work with us,” he added.

Prigozhin was confirmed to be onboard a private jet that crashed on Wednesday in Russia’s northwestern Tver region, killing all 10 passengers.

President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on Thursday, and described Prigozhin as a "talented man" with a "difficult fate." He said Moscow will thoroughly investigate the causes of the incident.