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Lukashenko was (not) the first? Who Putin called after meeting with the U.S. special envoy
Azarenok’s version vs. the official account
Right after meeting with U.S. special envoy Steven Witkoff, Vladimir Putin called his closest ally, Alexander Lukashenko, according to Grigory Azarenok on his show. The Weekly Top Fake team checked the order of calls.
After U.S. special envoy Steven Witkoff visited Moscow on Aug. 6, 2025, and before Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin nine days later, the Belarusian angle of both events was discussed on the program “Azarenok. Directly.” Host Grigory Azarenok, speaking with Belarusian lawmaker Vadim Gigin, described how the Russian president held “a big round of calls with his allies.”
“The first was Lukashenko, back on Friday. … Witkoff flew to Moscow, they met, talked for a long time, and then Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin … news broke of the upcoming meeting, and right as Simon Shuster’s interview on these issues was airing … Vladimir Vladimirovich called Alexander Lukashenko. Then he called other allies. Yesterday it was Kim Jong Un,” Azarenok said on Aug. 13.
The Kremlin’s official website lists the president’s meetings and calls. Putin spoke with Steven Witkoff on Aug. 6. On the evening of Aug. 7, he called the president of South Africa. On Aug. 8, he spoke with the leaders of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and China. Later that same day, reports mention Belarus. After that, Putin called India.
