Lukashenka left for Venezuela – US worries about his relations with Chavez
- 15.03.2010, 10:31
The Belarusian ruler left for Venezuela in the morning March 15.
“Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Venezuelan leadership are expected to discuss current bilateral relations and prospects for Belarus–Venezuela cooperation,” Interfax new agency learnt from Pavel Lyohki, the head of Belarusian ruler’s press service.
According to him, heads of Belarus and Venezuela Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Hugo Chavez are supposed to have a private conversation and then negotiations involving heads of ministries and governmental agencies. It is planned that a packet of agreements for bilateral cooperation development will be signed in Caracas, Lyohki noted.
The press service head also said Lukashenka and Chavez would also pay attention to “the process of the implementation of the arrangement reached at previous meetings”.
As it has been reported earlier, a Belarusian delegation led by Belarusian deputy prime minister Uladzimir Syamashka arrived in Caracas in the middle of last week to study fulfilment of previous arrangements and working out new joint projects.
As charter97.org has already informed, the Belarus Arms Transfers Accountability Act of 2009 was introduced to the US Congress. The document says about relations between Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Hugo Chavez:
“Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez maintains strong relationships with Iran, Cuba, Sudan, and Syria, all states designated by the United States as state sponsors of terrorism.
In May 2006 and each year since, the Department of State has determined that Venezuela is not cooperating fully with United States anti-terrorism efforts.
In the summer of 2006, Venezuela's ambassador to Cuba visited Belarus and described the United States as a `common enemy' and Hugo Chavez made an official visit to Belarus.
Subsequently, in September 2006, it was reported that Belarus and Venezuela announced that a proposed military contract between the two countries in the amount of $1,000,000,000 was under consideration.
In March 2008, a member of Venezuela's National Assembly, Mr. Abel El Zabayar, visited Iran and stated that Venezuela had begun discussions with Belarus and Iran on nuclear cooperation.
The planned deployment by Venezuela of an advanced air defense system, such as the S-300 missile system, in conjunction with Venezuela's reported growing nuclear cooperation with Belarus and Iran raises disturbing similarities to the pattern of reported sales arrangements of the S-300 missile system by Russia to Iran at a time of Russian cooperation in the development of Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Any use by Iran of nuclear cooperation agreements with other countries as a means to proliferate weapons technology and expertise to countries such as Venezuela, either directly or by means of arrangements with Belarus or other countries would not be in the interest of the United States.
We remind that ahead of his visit to Venezuela, Alyaksandr Lukashenka refused to visit Lithuania on invitation of president Dalia Grybauskaite to celebration the Reestablishment of Independence Day.