BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/01/2010

Expert on Russian-Ukrainian disputes over fees for oil

MOSCOW, January 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has expressed readiness to continue subsidizing the Belarussian economy by providing 6.3 million tons of crude for Belarus, an expert said Saturday.

In financial terms, this means a benefit of $ 1.8 billion a year, he said.

"What phase are the talks in now?" he said. "To put it simply, Russia' s proposal says, well, dear Belarussian friends, please accept a present in the form of 6.3 million tons of oil that's necessary for your country's domestic consumption."

"As far as I can see, this option is effective today," the expert said.

"And this is roughly what the Belarussians say in response: give us 30 million tons duty-free or we'll raise the transit fee to $ 45 per ton /this fee stands at $ 3.9 per ton at the moment under effective agreements - Itar-Tass/ and keep up the uncompetitive conditions for the Belarussian oil refineries, on the one hand, and the Russian refineries, on the other," he said.

"The Russian proposal doesn't meet the interests of the Belarusian side in full, and it's quite understandable why," the expert said.

"A multitude of intermediaries is operating on the Belarusian market and it's also understandable that they are not independent, as Belarus is a country where everything in the sphere of fuels and energy is strictly controlled by the state leadership," he said.

Source:

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14705071&PageNum=0


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