Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that Belarus and Iran should work “closely” together to counter attacks from the West.
The Belarusian president also accused “unfriendly countries” — such as the U.S. and other Western nations — of using never-ending Middle East tensions to poke Iran.
“The situation in the world is heating up,” Lukashenko told Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Mokhber in Minsk on Tuesday, according to Belarusian news agency Belta. “Our answer is: We should work more closely with each other, cooperate to counter these attacks,” he added.
Iran and Belarus have a longstanding diplomatic relationship. Earlier this year, Lukashenko visited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran and the leaders signed a “cooperation roadmap” between the two countries.
“The pressure exerted on our states is unprecedented,” Lukashenko told Mokhber. “But you have already learned to resist it to some extent, and your experience is valuable for us.”
Iran has been sanctioned and condemned by Ukraine and the West over its continuous support of Russia amid its ongoing war in Ukraine, including supplying the Kremlin with Shahed kamikaze drones that are used to attack Ukrainian civilian targets and advising Moscow on how to circumvent the international sanctions it faces.
During Mokhber’s visit to Belarus, the Iranian official is set to meet several Belarusians for “high-level bilateral talks,” according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. The one-day visit is expected to result in a new cooperation document to strengthen “ties between the two nations.”