Belarus, Iran must work together to resist Western attacks: Lukashenko

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday said that his country and Iran must work together against Western attacks amid growing tensions in the world.

“The situation in the world is heating up, and the crisis in the Middle East contributes to the fact that unfriendly Western countries led by the US are constantly directing the spearhead of this conflict against Iran,” Lukashenko said during a meeting with Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber in the Belarusian capital Minsk, according to a statement by the Belarusian presidency.

“We must work more closely with each other, cooperate together to resist these attacks,” Lukashenko was further quoted as saying.

According to the Belarusian presidency, Lukashenko also recalled his visit to Tehran earlier this year in March where he and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi agreed to develop trade and bilateral cooperation.

“Based on the experience of relations with Iran, based on many years of cooperation with Iran, I conclude that our bureaucracies must learn to work very quickly. If we agree on something, it must be fulfilled on time. The most important thing for us is not sanctions and pressure, but time. And under no circumstances should this time be lost as a result of bureaucratic obstacles,” Lukashenko added.

An ally of Russia, Belarus has been hit by Western sanctions over its support for Moscow since it launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.