Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is expected to arrive in Minsk later on Tuesday, is to meet with Alyaksandr Lukashenka at the Zaslawye government residence near Minsk in the evening, according to the press office of the Belarusian foreign ministry.
The Venezuelan president was initially expected to deliver a lecture at the National Library on the situation in Latin America, but the event was later cancelled.
Mr. Chavez is currently on a tour of North Africa, the Middle East and post-Soviet countries. On September 7, the Venezuelan president made a surprise appearance at the Venice Film Festival, where Oliver Stone’s documentary "South of the Border" was being premiered. The film tells the story of Mr. Chavez’s rise to power and the impact that he has had on the rest of the continent. Mr. Stone said that he wanted the film to serve as a direct counterpoint to what he sees as Mr. Chavez's depiction as a dictator by US and European media.
The Venezuelan president praised the film for depicting what he said were improvements made across Latin America. "Rebirth is happening in Latin America, and Stone went to look for it and he found it," he told reporters. "With his cameras and his genius, he's captured a good part of that rebirth."
Mr. Chavez has been to Belarus three times, in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Mr. Lukashenka was on a state visit to Venezuela in December 2007.
