TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani offered his congratulations to the Belarusian people and government over the anniversary of the Eastern European country’s Independence Day. 

In a message to his Belarusian counterpart, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Lukashenko, on Monday, President Rouhani felicitated the country’s Independence Day and expressed the hope that bilateral relations between the two nations would develop in all spheres. 

The Iranian president also wished health and success for Lukashenko and prosperity and happiness for the people of Belarus. 

Independence Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Belarus celebrated on July 3.  It commemorates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation during the Second World War. 

Originally Independence Day of Belarus commemorated the country's independence from the Soviet Union declared on July 27, 1990.  However, in 1996 President Alexander Lukashenko proposed to move the holiday to July 3 in order to celebrate the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis.  The proposal was supported by almost 90% of voters during the 1996 referendum.