Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko opines on how Belarus, Iran can benefit from joining efforts

TEHRAN, 13 March (BelTA) – If Belarus and Iran join efforts, the bilateral cooperation can benefit the two countries immensely, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on 13 March, BelTA has learned.

First of all, the Belarusian head of state thanked his Iranian counterpart for the hospitality and warm welcome extended to the Belarusian delegation. “An old Iranian proverb says: A friend is God’s blessing. I believe that I am visiting my friends. I am happy to pay another visit to Tehran, the capital of present-day Iran, the cradle of one of the most commercially and culturally advanced civilizations; trade routes had passed through its territory long before America was discovered,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.

“In modern terms, your ancestors knew about logistics, exports, transit much more than those who have been strangling your country with sanctions for more than forty years trying to impose the so-called democratic values. They apparently forgot that every nation has its own values that stem from their culture, way of life, upbringing, religion, and these values must be reckoned with. This is the guarantee of peaceful coexistence. Forgetting about this leads to wars,” the president stressed.

This is Aleksandr Lukashenko’s third visit to Iran. “During my every visit I see the tenacity with which your people resist external pressure and attempts to impose someone else’s will and I have a great respect for that and for your achievements in the field of advanced technology and nuclear energy. And, as we have agreed with the president of Iran today, we can be very useful to each other if we truly join our efforts,” the Belarusian leader said.

“The experience of my communication with the former presidents of Iran and the negotiations that we have had suggest that the ongoing visit is remarkable as it will offer an opportunity to reach a new stage of our cooperation. And this cooperation will be highly efficient. I make such assumptions based on the agreements that we have already reached,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

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