Nursultan Nazarbayev was supposed to sign the Belavezha agreement on the separation of the republics from the USSR but did not go to Viskuliy. Because Gorbachev offered Nazarbayev the post of chairman of the USSR parliament if he did not attend the meeting of representatives of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Axar.az reports the statement came from former chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian SSR Stanislav Shushkevich.

"He said he would come, but then he lost contact with his plane. He went to Moscow, where Gorbachev promised him the post of chairman of the USSR parliament. He also decided that it is very good, "Shushkevich said.