BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/01/2007

Russian trade minister: no new talks with Belarus unless oil transit fee revoked

The Associated Press

MOSCOW: Russia's trade minister said Tuesday that Moscow would hold no new negotiations with Belarus over a growing oil spat unless Minsk revoked a newly imposed transit free on Russian oil bound for Europe.

"These are our unconditional demands and we will not enter into talks until these conditions are satisfied," Trade and Economics Minister German Gref told reporters after meeting with Belarusian Vice-Premier Andrei Kobyakov.

Gref said that while no new talks have been scheduled, the Belarusian delegation headed by Kobyakov remained in Moscow.

There was no immediate reaction from Belarusian officials.

A two-day-old pipeline transit dispute with Belarus has interrupted Russian oil shipments to Germany and much of Eastern Europe, amid growing European Union criticism. Russia stopped pumping oil to Europe on Monday via the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Belarus, accusing its neighbor of siphoning off oil.

The two former Soviet nations are locked in a dispute over a Russian decision to impose duties on oil exports to Belarus. Minsk, in return, slapped a transit duty on Russian oil shipments, angering Moscow.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/09/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Oil-Belarus-Gref.php