BELARUS PM THANKS ARMENIA FOR SUPPORT
By Shakeh Avoyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 23 2006
Belarus’s visiting Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky thanked Armenia
on Monday for supporting his country, increasingly ostracized by
the West for its poor democracy and human rights records, in the
international arena.
"Belarus supports Armenia in international affairs and we thanked
Armenia for supporting Belarus in international affairs," Sidorsky
said after holding talks with Armenian leaders on the first day of
his official visit to Yerevan.
Although Sidorsky did not elaborate, he seemed to be alluding to
Armenia’s refusal to join the United States and the European Union
in condemning the authoritarian regime of Belarusian President
Aleksandr Lukashenko. Official Yerevan has repeatedly sided with
Russia in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and
other international bodies to vote against resolutions criticizing
Lukashenko’s intolerance of dissent and reported human rights abuses.
Lukashenko, known for his tough anti-Western rhetoric, faced renewed
international criticism as recently as last March over his handling of
a controversial presidential election which OSCE observers denounced
as undemocratic. President Robert Kocharian reportedly congratulated
him on his hotly disputed reelection.
Meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian said Armenian-Belarusian ties have been cemented by what
he described as a "warm personal rapport" existing between the two
presidents. "Cooperation between the two states and the two governments
is proceeding very well," Markarian told an ensuing news conference. "I
am very satisfied with our negotiations."
The talks appeared to have focused on bilateral economic ties, with
the two premiers praising a steep increase in Armenian-Belarusian
trade reported by them in the last few years. But they both admitted
that its volume remains modest in absolute terms.
Markarian and Sidorsky said nothing about ongoing military cooperation
between the two ex-Soviet states aligned in the Russian-led Collective
Security Treaty Organization. Armenia and Belarus are bound by
bilateral agreements that allow for mutual arms supplies.
Belarusian Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev reaffirmed his country’s
interest in the developing "mutually beneficial" military ties with
Armenia as he visited Yerevan in December last year. According to
Kocharian’s office, Maltsev and Armenian leaders discussed "prospects
for deepening" those ties.