Defiant Lukashenko says Belarusian Olympic defector was 'manipulated'

FILE PHOTO: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Russia July 13, 2021. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolskyi/Kremlin via REUTERS

KYIV (Reuters) -President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday a Belarusian sprinter who defected at the Olympic Games in Tokyo had been "manipulated" by outside forces and would not have fled abroad otherwise.

Sounding defiant on the first anniversary of an election which opponents said was rigged to let him win, Lukashenko denied being a dictator and said he was not involved in the death of an opposition activist found hanged last week in Kyiv.