BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/01/2010

Russia rules out Belarus supply cut

MOSCOW: Russia has no plans to cut oil supplies to Belarus despite failing to agree terms of this year's deliveries, a Russian government source said, adding that talks would resume in early this month.

The comment will be seen as a relief in Germany and Poland, which experienced major cuts in Russian crude oil supplies in January 2007 along a pipeline running via Belarus because of a similar dispute between Moscow and Minsk.

"The talks will be continued. The Russian delegation made a series of proposals which correspond to market conditions and the ball is in the Belarussian delegation's court," the source said.

Asked whether oil supplies to Belarus would be cut, he said: "Everything will continue as before. Nothing will be stopped."

Russia and Belarus had plans to create a union state with one currency and customs rules but the project never materialised as relations between the two states chilled.

Moscow has often blamed Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been running the country for over a decade along Soviet-style command lines, for failing to keep its promises, including selling top assets to Russian firms.

The unease in relations this year also coincided with steps by Lukashanko - often criticised by human rights organisations for his treatment of opposition and media - to improve relations with the West.

European politicians have repeatedly accused the Kremlin of using its energy might as a tool of intimidation of its neighbours, be it gas or oil deals with Belarus or Ukraine.

Russia, the world's largest oil and gas producer, says it is simply switching gradually to market terms after subsidising neighbours with cheap energy for years.

Europe eagerly watches all disputes between Russia and its neighbours as a fifth of Europe's gas comes from Russia via the territories of Ukraine and Belarus. Those two also ship an important part of Russian oil via inland pipelines.

Source:

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=267683


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