Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was taken to a hospital in Moscow after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Newsweek reported citing the Belarusian opposition leader.

Claiming that Lukashenko was in critical condition at the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow, Belarus 2020 presidential candidate Valery Tsepkalo, in a Saturday Telegram post, said that the information his team obtained required further information and that it had not been confirmed, American weekly news magazine Newsweek reported.

“According to the information we have, which requires additional confirmation, Lukashenko after a meeting with Putin behind closed doors, was urgently taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow, where he is currently staying,” Tsepkalo said in a Telegram post.

“The best specialists were sent to return him (Lukashenko) from a condition assessed by doctors as critical,” he added.

Tsepkalo’s message on Telegram further said, “The organized measures to rescue the Belarusian dictator were aimed at averting speculation about the possible involvement of the Kremlin in his poisoning.” He said that doctors have warned of a possible recurrence of relapses, as per the news report.

According to the Newsweek, rumours around Lukashenko’s health have been doing the rounds in the weeks after his appearance at the Victory Day celebration in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9. However, Lukashenko, who has led Belarus since 1994, dismissed the rumours and said, “I’m not going to die guys.”