BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/05/2007

Belarus and Iran Agree to Resist Pressure

Reuters

MINSK -- The leaders of Belarus and Iran pledged on Tuesday to act jointly to counter attempts to exert pressure on individual nations.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called his Belarussian host, Alexander Lukashenko, "brother" at a news conference after a two-day visit.

Neither explicitly mentioned the United States, a frequent critic of both countries. But each vowed to help the other to fend off any hostile action linked to a position of strength.

"No one can claim a monopoly in using an advantage to exert pressure in its relations with another state," Ahmadinejad said.

Lukashenko, who thanked the Iranian leader for a deal allowing Belarus to extract oil in Iran's Jofeir deposit, said he would be unreserved in supporting Tehran.

"Everything we can do for Iran will be in the spirit of the understanding that Iran has for the Belarussian people," he told reporters.

Source:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/05/23/017.html