GOMEL OBLAST, 24 November (BelTA) – During his working trip to Gomel Oblast on 24 November Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made a few comments about the recent situation with Ukrainian spies, BelTA has learned.

Alexander Lukashenko said he discussed the situation with Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko during the meeting in the United Arab Emirates in early November 2017. Alexander Lukashenko laid down facts in response to Petro Poroshenko's question. “I admitted that I knew about the operation to neutralize the spy network from the first day through the last day. It is how things are done. The KGB chief briefed me about it right away,” said Alexander Lukashenko.

The head of state said that during the meeting in the UAE Alexander Lukashenko and Petro Poroshenko reached an agreement to keep the matter out of the public limelight but later on the Ukrainian side broke its word. “They raise hysteria and leaked everything to mass media. What could I do? I went back on my decision and gave instructions to present some facts to mass media to make people understand we are not trying to crank up tensions in relations with Ukraine. We showed what we had. This man confessed where he had worked and how. A lot of additional materials are available. I don't know why this scandal was necessary. But they broke our agreement,” stressed Alexander Lukashenko.

The president noted that there was no Moscow trace in this situation and looking for one is a futile endeavor.

People involved in the spy situation are facing charges in accordance with the law, stated Alexander Lukashenko. “I understand this colonel, who worked under the guise of a reporter. Many countries do things like that, letting intelligence officers operate under the guise of reporters and diplomats. I've encountered it many times. But how are we to understand a Belarusian citizen, who worked for a foreign intelligence service for peanuts albeit the Ukrainian intelligence service?” wondered Alexander Lukashenko.

BelTA reported earlier that Pavel Sharoiko, a regular officer of the Central Intelligence Office of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, was caught in action by the State Security Committee of Belarus on 25 October. Pavel Sharoiko created a human intelligence network made up of Belarusian citizens, who had been collecting intelligence of military and political nature for him in exchange for money. Pavel Sharoiko was charged with espionage in accordance with Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Belarus. He is now in custody.

Pavel Sharoiko said that his intelligence gathering efforts had been supervised by Igor Skvortsov, an officer at the Central Intelligence Office of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, who had worked in Belarus under the guise of the counsellor of the Ukrainian embassy. Igor Skvortsov was declared persona non grata for actions incompatible with his diplomatic status.