Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday tried to refute rumors of a serious health problem and during the meeting said, among other things: “I’m not dying, guys!”

Rumors that 68-year-old Lukashenka is seriously ill appeared during his recent visit to Moscow. The Belarusian ruler, looking tired and unsure after the Victory Day parade, got into his car to drive about 300 meters more, a distance that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders had covered on foot.

Despite his hoarseness, Lukashenka said that he was infected with adenovirus and there was no reason to worry. “If anyone thinks I’m dying, let them calm down,” the 68-year-old president said, adding: “I’m not dying guys! You will have to endure me for a long time.”

On Monday, exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tikhanovskaya urged her supporters to be “vigilant” if there is an opportunity to put Belarus back “on the path to democracy.”

Lukashenka has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994. Last year, he allowed the Russian military to use his country’s territory as a base for an invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Source: RES-IPE