Belarus unwilling to pay same premium to Russian oil companies

Dmitry Krutoi said: “We have no new factors to consider in negotiations with the Russian Federation at present. We still believe that there is no sense in paying the amounts of premiums we agreed on in 2011 due to the implementation of the tax maneuver and annual increases in prices for the oil Belarus buys due to the lower customs duty. It is simply impractical from the economic point of view.”

In his words, Russian partners are unwilling to budge for now as far as the size of the premium is concerned. Only Mikhail Gutseriyev's companies have taken steps to meet Belarus halfway. “Negotiations are in progress. We've sent our proposals to everyone. We believe that one cannot simply get rid of the Belarusian market: we are a major consumer of Russian oil (roughly 10% of Russian export),” the official pointed out. “Negotiations will continue and I hope a solution will be found.”

The government continues considering alternative ways for importing oil. All possible options are being looked into. “We've sent the relevant commercial offers. All the commercial departments of our refineries, of Belarusian Oil Company conduct negotiations virtually every day. I think we will be able to secure alternative ways of delivering specific oil soon,” Dmitry Krutoi added. “All possible countries, including Ukraine, Poland, Baltic states, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan. We are working on it.”