KIEV, April 26 – Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko turned down an invitation to visit Chernobyl on Tuesday, calling President Viktor Yanukovych a “lousy” leader for allegedly listening to political demands from Brussels.

Lukashenko also personally attacked Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, and other European officials for allegedly designing a policy of boycotting Belarus.

The comments come amid speculations that Barroso has conditioned his participation in the Chernobyl international donor conference in Kiev last week to assurance from Ukrainian leaders that Lukashenko would not be invited.