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Lukashenka to meet with Israeli foreign minister on June 4

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will meet with Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk on June 4, according to the Israeli foreign ministry’s press office.

The Israeli minister will arrive in Minsk on June 3. He also is expected to have a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Syarhey Martynaw, the following day.

Mr. Lieberman plans to express Israel’s concern about Minsk’s close ties with Iran during the visit, the press office said, describing Iran as a “severe geopolitical threat to Israel and the entire region.”

In addition, the talks will focus on a “range of issues concerning the bilateral relationship, such as economic and cultural cooperation.”

“Iran is a threat to the peace process in the Middle East,” Edward (Eddie) Shapira, the Israeli ambassador to Belarus, said in an interview with BelaPAN last month. “There are many signs indicating that country’s reluctance to ensure peace in the region. For instance, the Gaza Strip is under the control of Iran and has been handed over to terrorist organization Hamas. It was with the approval and financial support of the Iranian leadership that missile attacks were carried out on Israeli territories.”

“If Iran gets nuclear weapons, this will strongly increase its ability to support extremists and allow it to gain regional supremacy,” the ambassador said. “The Iranian leadership constantly talks about its plans to destroy Israel and denies the Holocaust. The stronger the international community’s intention to stop Iran’s nuclear program, the better chance it has of success.”

“Belarus is aware of our concerns about Iran’s nuclear program,” Mr. Shapira noted.

Israel’s nrg Maariv news website reported in May that during his visit to Minsk, the Israeli foreign minister might offer serious benefits in exchange for a more loyal attitude toward Israel and breaking away from Iran and Syria. Apart from financial assistance to Belarus, Israel may offer to help Minsk improve relations with the West, the website said.

According to the source, after the international community had managed to prevent S-300 surface-to-air missile systems from being supplied to Iran from Russia, an agreement was reached that the systems, as well as Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles, would be sold to Tehran via Belarus.