During a formal visit of a Libyan leader to Belarus, several rounds of negotiations of Alexander Lukashenko and Muammar Kaddafi were held.Muammar Kaddafi is mentioned as the leader of the Great Libyan revolution in official documents. Formally, he doesn’t hold any state offices, but he had been factually presiding the country from 1969, when he overthrew a monarchy with a group of officers. In 8 years after this event one more peaceful revolution occurred under his guidance in Libya: a republican form of government was replaced by Jamahiriya, in other words, sovereignty. Former state regulatory bodies were abolished. It turns out to be that Muammar Kaddafi is in charge of the revolutionary leadership, which is outside the system of state power. However, it is over this system.
The Libyan leader is a unique person in the world policy. Alongside with the domestic policy orientation to direct sovereignty without such traditional power attributes as a president, a parliament, a government, he has been pursuing a foreign policy with a principle of non-alignment in its basis for many years. During the “cold war” this meant not coming into direct confrontation with the capitalist system and a social block. Now non-alignment means non-participation in any military unions, bearing up a principle of a multipolar world order.
However, this doesn’t at all mean conflict relations with the West. Tripoli regulated all contestable matters in relations with Washington and European capitals several years ago. The USA Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy and other high-ranking western politicians had visited Libya for the last years. Aspiration of the leading world-powers to conduct a dialogue with Libya underlines the importance of this country on the world arena. Not least of all it is explained by solid hydrocarbon raw materials inventory, concentrated in that part of Northern Africa, where this state is situated.
Libya had steady relations with the Soviet Union. Muammar Kaddafi had visited the USSR for several times, and now he made a tour of the countries of the former Union. He flew to Minsk from Moscow. After that, he visited the Ukraine.
Alexander Lukashenko personally met the head of Libya in the National Airport in Minsk. Journalists were unable to recollect such a situation. According to the rules of the diplomatic protocol, the President doesn’t have to meet his colleagues at the airport. Usually the Government representative carries out this mission. However, in this case Alexander Lukashenko expressed his special sympathy to the guest. The first negotiations of the heads of the states were held in one of the airport premises. It should be specified that they were the first in Belarus, because in 2000 Alexander Lukashenko made a formal call to Libya. Thus, this visit of Muammar Kaddafi is a return visit.
“All our arrangements made eight years ago, remain in force,” Alexander Lukashenko said at the meeting with the guest. According to him, Libya is an actively developing country. There are many possibilities for advancement of bilateral relations.
The Libyan leader visited the Museum of History of the Great Patriotic War on the first day. By education he is a historian, this is why it could be seen that he was interested in the exposition. The main negotiations were held afterwards.
“Belarus and Libya don’t have differences in approaches to the main problems of the world order. We, as well as you, think that the world shall be multipolar, that this is a principle of existence of any system: it shall be supported by many points. Then it will be stable,” Alexander Lukashenko said during the talk in private.
The President of Belarus noted that the trade between two countries “is developing good, in whole, but the existing volume doesn’t reflect the potential of the states.” This year the sales turnover of Belarus and Libya reached almost 20 million US Dollars. This is a significant increment in comparison with the previous years, when bilateral economic indicators left much to be desired. Alexander Lukashenko asked his interlocutor, that Tripoli would support Belarusian specialists, working in Libya. In its turn, “Belarus will greet Libyan business and specialists in any directions.”
Muammar Kaddafi thanked for a warm reception and expressed satisfaction with the development of relations between two countries. “This will give a great impetus to the development of our relations,” he thinks. Muammar Kaddafi also expressed concernment that international norms are violated in the world and the talk is carried on from the position of strength. “We want the piece to reign all over the planet, and such a disaster as the Second World War would never repeat,” the leader of the Libyan revolution said. He underlined the necessity to reform the existing system of international safety, including the UNO as its element.
Muammar Kaddafi thanked Belarus for support. “Libya underwent a hard period of international sanctions, and during this period Belarus extended a hand of friendship to us,” he said. The Libyan leader underlined that the visit of Alexander Lukashenko to Libya in 2000 laid the foundation and drew up the guidance for fruitful bilateral cooperation. “I came to Minsk to advance our relations. We hope to see our friend, the President of Belarus, in Libya, and invite him,” he said.
Alexander Lukashenko underlined that he would “visit Libya with great pleasure.” “However, I would like to come there with certain results. The Belarusian side will work even more intensively for this purpose,” the President noted. The appeal of Alexander Lukashenko to certain arrangements was heard. Several documents were signed after the negotiations in the presence of the heads of the states, in particular, the convention on avoidance of double taxation.
An official reception on behalf of the President in honor of the leader of the Great Libyan revolution Muammar Kaddafi took place.
Igor Slavinsky
