July 25, 2006
Lukashenko expects relations with Venezuela to develop into long-term, all-round partnership

(BelaPAN) - "Aleksandr Lukashenko said he expected relations between Belarus and Venezuela to develop into a long-term and all-round partnership.

'Both Belarus and Venezuela have many common interests and one main goal - securing higher living standards for their citizens and peaceful conditions for materializing constructive plans. I'm sure that we will manage to successfully put everything that we are planning into practice in the cause of the development and prosperity of the Belarusian and Venezuelan peoples,' official information sources quoted him as saying at ceremony at the Military Academy in Minsk.

The Belarusian leader said that many criteria are used to assess a country's level of development but the main one is 'the pace of economic development and the reliable system of national security.' 'I want to reiterate that our military doctrine is based on the principle of collective international security efforts,' he stressed.

Mr. Lukashenko used the ceremony, which was attended by visiting Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez (...)

The Belarusian leader stressed that the country advocates a fair world order without external pressure. 'Each state has the right to follow the course chosen by its people,' he said".