Minsk in state of siege: Chávez visiting Lukashenka
- 23.07.2008, 8:46
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrives from Moscow in Minsk today. A key point of the oncoming visit is meeting between Chávez and Alyaksandr Lukashenka. It is the third visit of the Venezuelan president to Belarus, the country which has economic and military ties with Venezuela.
As ITAR-TASS learnt from diplomatic sources, the talks between and Lukashenka will focus on cooperation in the field of fuel and energy sector, finance, establishment of joint ventures. It is not ruled out that the two presidents might discuss military-technical cooperation.
However, Chávez has some reasons to visit Belarus. As AFN notes, one of them is to learn the situation around the Venezuelan missile defence system, which is to be installed by Belarus. One more delicate issue that should be discussed by the friends from Minsk and Caracas is Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which, as the world media say, are supported by Chávez not without Minsk’s help. It should be reminded that information about selling of Belarusian arms to FARC group, recognised a terroristic organisation by the international society, was spread by influential Spanish El Pais daily and Euronews with reference to Interpol experts.
As El Pais staged, former State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Viktar Sheiman was one of those who negotiated 720 million euro contracts for supply of weapons to Venezuela which were signed last year.”
Besides meeting with Lukashenka, visits to National Library and one of the Minsk public gardens, named after leader of the national liberation movement of South America Simon Bolivar some days ago, are scheduled for Chávez.
As the Charter’97 press center informed, people living in houses in Zakharau and Pershamaiskaya Streets, where the public garden is situated, were ordered “to close windows and balconies on 23 July from 12.00 noon till 1.00 pm in the connection with a visit of a guarded official to the public garden named after Simon Bolivar.”
Belarusian car drivers should better avoid the city center due to the visit of Hugo Chávez. Traffic on the Minsk belt highway, Winners Avenue and Independence Avenue and Lenin Street will be limited from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm.
Traffic along Zakharau Street (from Independence Avenue to Smalenskaya Street) and along Pershamaiskaya Street (from Kupala Street to Chapaeu Street) will be blocked from 12.00 noon to 1.45 pm.