Exclusive: Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko tries to turn the tables in combative interview

But when CNN sat down for a rare interview with the man responsible for a brutal crackdown over the last year, he was defiant, alternately denying facts or claiming things were worse in the United States or Britain.But it is weakness that his critics say is pushing Lukashenko ever closer to another strongman next door, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid — Kremlin support that is likely to come with strings. The closer economic, political, and military integration has fueled speculation that Lukashenko will be the last as well as the first Belarusian President, effectively merging his country with Russia. In one breath, he denies this. “Putin and I are intelligent enough to create a union of two independent states that would be stronger together than separate. Sovereignty is not for sale,” he said. In the next breath, he suggests what could happen if there’s provocation. “If we need to, Belarus will turn into one military base for Russia and Belarus in order to withstand your aggression, if you decide, or if any one country decides to attack. And you should be clear on this, I have never made any secret of it.”