BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/06/2007

Chavez: US treats Venezuela, Belarus as dictatorships

President Hugo Chavez on June 29 accused the United States of hindering cooperation efforts between Venezuela and Belarus by treating the leaders of both countries as "dictators," and forecast that he and his Belarus counterpart Alexandr Lukashenko will stay in power for another 20 years, Efe reported.

"We have many obstacles and enemies, particularly the empire, which purports to impose a unipolar view on the whole world," Chavez said during his meeting with Lukashenko in the short visit he paid to Belarus capital of Minsk.

"The same empire calling you and I dictators is trying to impose its dictatorship around the world," Chavez stressed.

In July 2006, Chavez paid his first visit to Lukashenko -who Washington calls "the last European dictator. This time, Chavez stressed that the bilateral "strategic cooperation" agreements they entered last year are making good progress.

"If we managed to do so much in less than one year, I can only imagine all the things we will do in the 20 years we will stay in power," said Chavez in Minsk, according to Russian news agency Interfax.

"Do not frighten the Americans," said the Belarus ruler, who has been in power since 1994.

Chavez' visit to Minsk is aimed at refining purchase of a state-of-the-art anti-aircraft system and assessing economic cooperation agreements, particularly in the energy sector.

According to Russian and Belarus media reports, Venezuela is purchasing an anti-aircraft system based on Russian S-300 PMU-2 and Tor M-1 missiles, equipped with radars. Belarus has offered to design an automatic operation system for the anti-aircraft system.

Source:

http://www.eluniversal.com/2007/06/29/en_pol_art_chavez:-us-treats-ve_29A892137.shtml

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