BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/12/2007

Venezuela's Chavez Promises Belarus Oil

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer

President Hugo Chavez promised to supply the oil needs of Belarus for years to come Saturday and dismissed Western accusations that former Soviet republic's leader is a dictator.

Concluding his first visit to Venezuela, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko promised to help the South American country beef up its military.

Chavez said both he and his counterpart are wrongly labeled "dictators" by their critics.

"The international media dictatorship ... calls him 'Europe's last dictator,' and me the last dictator of Latin America. Here we are, the last dictators," Chavez said, laughing. "They demonize us ... (because) we're leading a process of liberating our nations, uniting our nations."

Venezuela and Belarus share similarly hostile stances toward Washington. The U.S. government calls the leftist Chavez a threat to Latin America's stability and Belarus an "outpost of tyranny," accusing Lukashenko of stifling dissent and free speech.

Chavez presented Lukashenko with a medal, and they signed an agreement pledging military cooperation. They did not discuss specifics publicly, but Chavez has expressed interest in buying an air defense system from Belarus equipped with radar and anti-aircraft missiles.

The two governments also signed an accord establishing a joint venture to exploit oil and natural gas in Venezuela.

"The oil your nation needs ... is here, as much as you need for 100 years, 200 years," Chavez said during a ceremony at Guara Este oil field in eastern Venezuela.

The deal could be a boon to Belarus, which is reliant on Russia for its oil and gas. Under the agreement between the nations' state-run companies, Petroleos de Venezuela SA will control 60 percent of the venture, while Belorusneft will take a 40 percent stake.

Source:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/12/08/international/i235222S21.DTL&feed=rss.business