Belarusian president, Armenian premier discuss ties
Belarusian television, Minsk
3 May 05
[Presenter] Trade between Belarus and Armenia should increase
this year, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Armenian
Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan agreed today. In his statement,
the Belarusian president emphasized stable trade dynamics. Armenia
was Belarus’s ninth biggest trade partner among CIS states last
year. Bilateral trade totalled almost 11m dollars and grew by more
than 12 per cent year-on-year.
Andranik Markaryan noted that the Belarusian president’s official visit
to Yerevan four years ago laid a solid basis for the strengthening of
Belarusian-Armenian relations. Alyaksandr Lukashenka also greeted the
Armenian people on the forthcoming anniversary of the great victory
[in the WWII]. Lukashenka said that Belarusians remember and honour
the heroic deeds of the Armenians who fought and were killed on the
Belarusian soil during the Great Patriotic War.
[Lukashenka] On behalf of the Belarusian people, I am conveying our
people’s kindest feelings to you on the eve of the great holiday. You
can always find support in Belarus. You can always come here, to our
country, at any moment and consider this land to be your own land. I
think your visit will be successful. I and other officials will do
everything to satisfy all requests and wishes and to fulfil all the
agreements that will be reached during your visit.