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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made his first official visit to Azerbaijan on Wednesday, bringing together the leaders of two countries seeking to lessen their energy dependence on Russia. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev said his country is seeking to diversify ways to bring its Caspian Sea oil to Western markets and supports a plan to pump oil across Ukraine and into Poland via the Odessa-Brody pipeline, a route that would bypass Russia. "We have given our political support for this project, and now commercial issues are being discussed," Aliev said at a news conference with Lukashenko. Belarus borders Ukraine, and Lukashenko has expressed interest receiving oil through the pipeline. Aliev held out the prospect of energy supplies to Belarus, saying that Belarusian companies were interested in participating in oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan and that talks would be held in a bid to flesh out cooperation plans. When Aliev visited Belarus late last year, Lukashenko expressed interest in a share in the development of Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea oil and gas resources.