Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko claimed Thursday his security forces had intercepted German calls showing that Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny's poisoning had been faked. Lukashenko told visiting Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Minsk that the call between Berlin and Warsaw showed that the incident was a "falsification". "There was no poisoning of Navalny," Lukashenko told a poker-faced Mishustin during their televised meeting. "They did it -- I quote -- in order to discourage (Russian President Vladimir) Putin from sticking his nose into Belarus's affairs." Lukashenko provided no further details but said he would hand over transcripts to Russia's security services. The longtime Belarusian leader is under huge pressure from opposition protesters demanding his resignation after a disputed presidential election on August 9. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets for weeks in unprecedented protests against Lukashenko's 26-year rule. The claim about Navalny could be aimed at currying favour with Moscow, which has voiced support for Lukashenko during the protests. Navalny's top aide Leonid Volkov dismissed the claim as ridiculous, accusing the Russian prime minister of being an accomplice to the "attempted murder" by playing along in "this circus". Germany said Wednesday that tests had proven Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, after he fell ill on a plane in Siberia last month and was eventually taken to Berlin for treatment. Navalny, 44, remains in an artificially induced coma but his condition is improving, his German doctors have said. Lukashenko and Mishustin also said the two sides had made progress on plans to bring Russia and Belarus closer. In recent years the Kremlin has pushed for closer economic and political integration between the ex-Soviet countries but Lukashenko has so far resisted an outright unification. Lukashenko and Putin are set to meet in Moscow in the next few weeks. bur-as/mm/gd