ベラルーシ大統領、イラン訪問　両国の密接な関係強調

【テヘラン（イラン）ＡＦＰ＝時事】ベラルーシのアレクサンドル・ルカシェンコ大統領は１３日、訪問先のイラン首都テヘランでイブラヒム・ライシ大統領と会談し、密接な関係を強調した。両国は共にロシアのウクライナ侵攻をめぐる姿勢を含め、西側諸国と激しく対立している。（写真はイラン・テヘランで会談するイブラヒム・ライシ大統領〈右〉とベラルーシのアレクサンドル・ルカシェンコ大統領。）
　ルカシェンコ氏は「外部の意志を押し付けてくる圧力に抗うイラン国民の忍耐強さに大きな敬意を表する」と前置きし、イランは「何があっても最新技術や原子力エネルギーを開発している」と称賛。協力関係のさらなる深化を呼び掛けた。
　共同声明ではウクライナ紛争への言及はなかったが、ルカシェンコ氏はロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領の盟友であり、ベラルーシはロシア軍の後方基地として機能している。
　一方のイランも、ウクライナ紛争について中立的な立場を強調しつつ、ロシアとの緊密な関係を維持している。米政府は、イランが自国製の自爆型ドローン（無人機）をロシアに供給していると非難している。
　ルカシェンコ氏は今月、中国も訪問し、ウクライナ危機の「政治的解決」をめぐる提案に支持を表明した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/03/14-16:32）

The presidents of Iran and Belarus hailed their close ties during talks in Tehran Monday at a time both countries are sharply at odds with Western powers, including over Russia's war in Ukraine.
Ex-Soviet state Belarus serves as a rear base for Russian troops, and Iran is accused of supplying Moscow with armed drones for use in the invasion -- a charge it denies while proclaiming its neutrality in the conflict.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi hailed three decades of close ties with Belarus after talks with his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, who arrived late Sunday for a two-day visit.
Thirty years after the start of relations... the two countries have the will to strengthen cooperation, Raisi said, praising their common strategic vision.
Lukashenko said he had observed with great respect the perseverance with which the (Iranian) people resist external pressures, attempts to impose the will of others on them.
And I see that, despite everything, you are developing modern technologies and nuclear energy, he added about Iran's contested nuclear programme which has sparked tough international sanctions against the country.
Iran denies seeking to acquire an atomic weapon.
- 'Work together' -
Lukashenko has for years been hit with US sanctions, including for rights violations.
We could be very helpful to each other if we really put our efforts together, added Lukashenko.
The two presidents, who did not mention the Ukraine war in their statements, signed a roadmap to boost political, economic and cultural cooperation.
Lukashenko and his delegation later met Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the state news agency IRNA.
Countries sanctioned by the United States should work together and form a group to eliminate the tactic of sanctions, and we think that can be done, Khamenei said, cited by IRNA.
Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Tehran also maintains close ties with Russia even as it has stressed a neutral diplomatic stance in the Ukraine war.
Washington has accused Iran of supplying suicide drones to Russia, and expressed alarm over a dangerous escalation in military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.
Iran -- which has denied sending drones to Russia specifically for use in Ukraine -- has said it has finalised a contract to buy Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets.
Lukashenko early this month was in China, where he voiced support for Beijing's proposal to mediate in efforts to end the Ukraine war.
Belarus, a neighbour of Ukraine, has not sent soldiers to fight alongside the Russian army, but its territory has served as a rear base for troops from Moscow.
Lukashenko's visit to Iran was the third ever by a Belarusian president and the first in 17 years, according to state-run news agency Belta.