Lukashenko says Olympic sprinter was manipulated, had nothing to do with activist's death

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya had been manipulated into defecting during the Olympics and fleeing to Poland.

Speaking at a briefing, Lukashenko denied Tsimanouskaya's assertion that she had been escorted to Tokyo airport by security service agents.

Tsimanouskaya arrived in Warsaw last week after she refused her coaches' instruction to return to her homeland from Japan and was offered a humanitarian visa by Polish authorities.

He also said his government had nothing to do with the death of opposition activist Vitaly Shishov who was found hanged in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv last week.

Russia has maintained close military and economic ties with its ally Belarus, even as Western countries have ostracized the country since Lukashenko cracked down on mass protests following a contested presidential election last year.

Lukashenko said Belarus could invite all Russian military if needed, after he had won the presidential election fairly on Aug. 9 last year and that he was protecting his country against a violent uprising.

Britain imposed sanctions on Belarus's potash and petroleum product exports on Monday in an attempt to put pressure on Lukashenko.

The British sanctions, which prohibited the purchase of transferable securities and money-market instruments issued by the Belarusian state and its state-owned banks, are the latest sanctions imposed by the West over Lukashenko's crackdown.

Asked about the sanctions, Lukashenko said Britain should choke on them.

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