MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia may increase oil supplies to Belarus starting from April 13 if Minsk pays for the crude by then, said Sputnik, citing Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
President Vladimir Putin and his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko met earlier this week. Putin promised a discount on energy supplies to Belarus and said a roadmap had been agreed for energy cooperation up to 2020.
The most recent dispute escalated in 2016 after Minsk called Russian gas prices unfair and unilaterally reduced them. By the 2016 fall, Belarus owed USD270-300 million for Russian gas. Minsk refused to acknowledge the debt, with Russia reducing its duty-free oil exports to Belarus saying it was due to inadequate gas payments and insufficient petroleum products’ shipments to Russia. Belarusian authorities had also increased rates on the transit of Russian oil via the country's territory.
In March, the Russian and Belarusian prime ministers discussed the dispute. However, according to Novak, Minsk refused to repay its USD700-million debt without receiving substantial preferences.
MRC