Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today that gunmen who attacked the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow last Friday had initially tried to flee to his country, not Ukraine, as Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, insist.

Putin claimed that Ukraine had prepared a “window” for the attackers to cross the border, which is a war zone. Ukraine categorically denies any involvement but two of the Russian president’s strongest allies, Security Council chief Nikolai Patrushev and the head of the security service FSB Alexander Bortnikovdirectly accused Kiev today, without presenting any proof.

But Lukashenko, who is also a close ally of Putin, told reporters that Belarusian and Russian security services coordinated their actions as the suspects’ vehicle moved southwest of Moscow, toward the Bryansk region, which borders both Ukraine as well as Belarus. He also said that Belarus set up border checkpoints very quickly. “That’s why they couldn’t enter Belarus. They saw this and left and went to the area of ​​the Russian-Ukrainian border,” he was quoted as saying, according to the state-run BelTA agency.

“Putin and I did not sleep for a day (…) We were in constant communication,” he added.

Bortnikov said Russia knew Ukraine was training Islamist militants in the Middle East.

US officials have said their intelligence confirms Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. Putin himself admitted the attack was carried out by Islamists but said he wanted to know who ordered it.