BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/01/2007

Russia-Belarus disputes should not affect mil. cooperation - Ivanov

VLASIKHA (Moscow region), January 6 (RIA Novosti) - Economic disputes between Russia and Belarus should not affect bilateral military cooperation, Russia's defense minister said Saturday.

"I know the Belarusian leadership's position... that some economic disputes should not affect military and military-technical cooperation between the two fraternal nations," Sergei Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister, said while on a visit to a Strategic Missile Forces garrison in the Moscow Region.

Ivanov was commenting on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's statement, in which the latter instructed his government to look into the issue of Russian property being stationed on Belarusian territory, apparently to make Russia pay for its services.

Ivanov said this was "a comment by Alexander Lukashenko, but no official proposals have reached us in this respect."

Belarus's state oil company Belneftekhim Thursday officially notified Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft of imposing a transit duty of $45 per metric ton of Russian oil from January 1.

The move apparently was a response to Moscow more than doubling the price for its natural gas from January 1, 2007 supplied to the 10-million nation to $100 per 1,000 cu m from $46.7 in its move to gradually make all former Soviet republics pay market prices for energy supplies, and also imposing a $180.7 oil export duty for Belarus.

Ivanov said Russia has two military facilities on Belarusian territory, and added that Russia's security will not be threatened anyway.

The deputy prime minister also said an agreement on a united Russia-Belarus air defense system is ready for signing.

Source:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070106/58560890.html