Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has announced Belarus’s intention to strengthen ties with Iran across all sectors, including the military. As reported by Radio Liberty’s Belarus Service, he made the statement on August 19 in Minsk during talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The Iranian leader arrived in Minsk on the evening of August 19, with his meeting with Lukashenko launching a new round of negotiations between the two countries’ delegations.
“You have been and remain our friends, and we strive to fulfill all our obligations undertaken before Iran. I want you to understand that you have come to your friends, and you can and should feel here as among friends,” Lukashenko told Pezeshkian.
He also extended greetings to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and recalled his earlier meetings with him during visits to Tehran. Lukashenko added: “We are ready to discuss any issues. We have no closed topics. We are prepared to cooperate on matters ranging from supplying food to your people to military-technical cooperation. There are no secrets here. We are not friends against anyone. We do everything for the benefit of our peoples—the Iranian and the Belarusian.”
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During the talks, President Pezeshkian raised the issue of sanctions and Tehran’s relations with the United States.
“We understand that the only thing that can neutralize all these illegal sanctions is the development of our relations and agreements that will be implemented in practice,” he said.
He emphasized that Belarus and Iran share common positions on international issues, particularly within the frameworks of the Eurasian Economic Union, BRICS, and the SCO—platforms that, in his view, open opportunities for both multilateral and bilateral cooperation.
According to Pezeshkian, these shared positions should be translated into practical steps in the economic and cultural fields, as well as in tourism and military-technical cooperation.
Earlier, it was reported that Belarus is moving to adopt legal changes that would permit the introduction of martial law in response to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. The proposed legislation, titled “On Amending Laws Regarding the Provision of Military Security and Defense,” was prepared by the Defense Ministry and has already been submitted to the lower house of parliament for review.
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