ARMENIA UNRUFFLED BY BELARUS-AZERI MILITARY TIES, ENVOY SAYS

Belapan news agency
5 Feb 07

Minsk, 5 February: The leadership of Armenia does not worry about
Belarus’s cooperation with Azerbaijan in the military-technical sector,
Oleg Yesayan, the Armenian ambassador to Belarus, told reporters in
Minsk on Monday [5 February].

"We (Belarus and Armenia) cooperate rather closely within the
framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and
each of our countries can join and be a member of various international
regional organizations," the ambassador said. "We build our relations
with states, and with Belarus in particular, irrespective of their
political relations with other countries. We build our relations on
an entirely independent basis with due regard for the intentions,
wishes and capabilities of our two countries."

Belarus’s relations with Armenia in the military sector are maintained
within the framework of the CSTO, whereas its relations with
Azerbaijan are mostly developed on a bilateral basis. The governments
of Belarus and Azerbaijan have signed agreements on cooperation in the
military-technical sector, as well as on cooperation between defence
industry enterprises and research and development organizations.

[Belarusian President] Alyaksandr Lukashenka said at a meeting with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Minsk on 17 October 2006 that
Belarus was ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in all areas. "For
Azerbaijan, as well as for many other brotherly countries, there are
no closed themes," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress