Updated

The leader of Belarus has entered the controversy over claims that Libya under Muammar Qaddafi funded French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.

President Alexander Lukashenko says the late Libyan leader told him when he visited Belarus in 2008 that he had funded Sarkozy's campaign.

Sarkozy, who lost his fight for re-election on Sunday, has strongly denied the claims.

The claims were made by a Tunisian lawyer for former Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Al-Mahmoudi, who said that according to his client, $65 million was given to Sarkozy's campaign.

Lukashenko, speaking Tuesday in an annual address to the Belarusian parliament, said that Qaddafi told him the amount was more than 100 million. Lukashenko did not specify the currency.