A 2012 recording of former Belarusian KGB chief suggests President Alexander Lukashenko sanctioned assassinations of opponents abroad. Specifically mentioned is Belarus-born journalist Pavel Sheremet, who was killed by a car bomb in central Kyiv, Ukraine, in July 2016.

Tape doesn't prove Belarus killed Sheremet but adds new wrinkle to unsolved case & weight to one of 3 "tracks" of investigation: organized & carried out by Russians; ...Ukrainians; ...Belarusians. Details about how KGB wanted Sheremet killed also similar to what really happened.
Ukraine arrested and is currently trying 3 suspects in Kyiv for Sheremet's murder. All have denied involvement and much of Ukrainian civil society has sided with them. Legal experts also say authorities' case is built upon weak evidence. I wrote about it: https://t.co/QoKGO0aSz0
I've covered the Sheremet murder from day one. I wrote a lengthy investigation about it for @pressfreedom in 2016-17: https://t.co/fFr4bAJdEy I found many failings on the part of Ukrainian authorities, who made their preference clear from the beginning: that Russia was behind it.
Another investigation into Sheremet's murder by @OCCRP and @Slidstvo_info also found failings in the official investigation as well as possible links to Ukrainian security service involvement. https://t.co/b6uI6krRgm
The Belarusian "track" has been the least investigated. To some, it seemed the least plausible. Belarusian KGB doesn't have a strong track record of assassinating opponents abroad; Sheremet's citizenship was stripped years earlier; and he'd long lived in Russia and Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the new audio recording raises serious questions about Minsk's involvement in Sheremet's killing. It also puts pressure on authorities in Kyiv. Will they follow up on this lead? Or will they pursue the current, problematic case against three Ukrainian suspects?
Ukraine's National Police said in a statement today that it has the audio recording published today in its possession and will look into it. It also says that prosecutors will push ahead with the current case in court. https://t.co/0KekJD8TzW
Here's the full English transcript of the tape in which Lukashenko's KGB discusses murdering opponents abroad, published by @euobs: https://t.co/r1Xbn6LXjL

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.