BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

12/01/2007

Opposition leader says economy hinders Belarus's trade relations

Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of Belarus's united opposition forces, has said the country's controlled economy fails it when it comes to market-based economic relations, Belapan reported on January 11. Meanwhile, Belarus and Russia on January 11 resumed negotiations aimed at ending the trade dispute that led to the recent shutoff of a pipeline that transported Russian oil to Europe via Belarus. Milinkevich was optimistic that an agreement will be reached, saying, "they should agree and will do it." He said the only outstanding issue is the duty Russia will impose on oil exported to Belarus. Regarding the Russia-Belarus Union state, Milinkevich said "the promises to create the common state were insincere...but the most painful fact is that Belarus is not ready for market-based relations."

Source:

http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/23400/