Chavez pledges oil to Belarus for 200 years

MINSK: In one of his typical flamboyant gestures, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has promised to provide oil to the former Soviet republic of Belarus for the next 200 years.

Chavez, who was visiting Belarus on Saturday, promised that Belarusian refineries, the backbone of the country's economy, would see no oil shortages for the next 200 years.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who critics have dubbed ``Europe's last dictator,'' is anxious to diversify away from Russian oil supplies as his relations with Moscow grow increasingly sour.

Venezuela earlier agreed to ship 80,000 barrels of heavy crude a day to Belarus.

Chavez was in Moscow earlier this week, where he reached a deal with Russia to build Venezuela's first nuclear plant and signed a few energy pacts.