Lukashenka takes offense at Putin

Disqualification of Lukashenka's team at the amatour ice hockey festival in Sochi made the dictator furious.

The Belarusian ruler cancelled the arranged informal meeting with the president of Russia and flew to Armenia to open a casino instead, Putin's spokesman Dzmitry Peskov says.

“We know that the president of Belarus really considered a possibility of joining his team at the competition, but the trip didn't take place,” Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke to Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper to confirm the scheduled visit of Lukashenka to Sochi. “If Mr Lukashenka had found time in his work schedule to visit the competition, it would be possible to suppose that the two presidents would have used that opportunity to meet. However, no official contacts were planned,” he stressed.

Peskov said to the newspaper that “many events regarding the integration processes, including high-level meetings, are expected within the next two weeks”. An informal summit of heads of state  of CSTO members, including Russia and Belarus, is scheduled for May 28 in Bishkek.

The Second Russian National Amateur Ice Hockey Teams' Festival was held in Sochi on May 3-10. The Belarusian ruler seemed to have put great hopes on an opportunity to meet with Vladimir Putin, who attended the final match. That's why Lukashenka's sons (both under 40 in violation of the rules of World Cup 40+) were included in the team besides him. After the team was disqualified, Lukashenka refused to visit Sochi and the Belarusian television accused Alexander Medvedev, an influential Russian businessman and official, of the incident.