BELARUS: Venezuela's Chavez receives red carpet ceremony from Belarus leader who he lauded as "friend"

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday (July 24) lauded Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, accused in the West of crushing fundamental rights, as a friend and vowed to join him in creating a "fighting team". Lukashenko welcomed Chavez with a red carpet ceremony, after which the two sat down for talks. Chavez, who proclaims socialist ideals to unite South America against U.S. influence, is on a world tour in part to seek support for oil-rich Venezuela's bid to win a place on the U.N. Security Council. Both Washington and the EU have barred entry to Lukashenko, accused by the United States and European Union of rigging his own re-election in March and of regularly hounding opponents and closing down independent media during 12 years in office. Lukashenko routinely accuses the West of trying to destabilise his administration and makes only infrequent visits outside Russia, his main ally, and other ex-Soviet states. Chavez, like Lukashenko fiercely critical of U.S. policy, recalled it was the birthdate of South American independence fighter Simon Bolivar, "who spoke not only of freedom and independence, but also of unity". Chavez said he was grateful to Lukashenko "for your solidarity through these years." Lukashenko, also smiling broadly, said there were many areas for cooperation. Chavez's tour will also take him to Russia where a deal will be clinched to buy 24 Sukhoi SU-30 combat planes. Also on his itinerary are Qatar, Iran, Vietnam and Mali. On his arrival in Minsk on Sunday (July 23), Chavez praised Belarus as a "model state" akin to what he wanted to build in Venezuela and called for joint efforts to counter "the hegemonic interests of the capitals, wherever they may be, in Europe or Latin America". Chavez was later to visit a site outside Minsk known as the "Stalin line" -- a series of fortifications constructed during the early Soviet period but over-run in the build-up to Nazi Germany's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.

ITN Source | July 24, 2006

Tags:. .leader. .build. .west. .deal. .washington