BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
10/01/2010
Belarus blames Russia for failed talks on Belarusian payments for Russan oil imports
Associated Press
MINSK, BELARUS - Officials say negotiations on Belarusian payments for Russan oil imports have failed.
Belarus blamed Russia Sunday, saying it had ignored important information from Belarus.
Russia is asking Belarus to pay full import duties on oil and abolish a current 65 percent discount. Moscow said it was ready to provide tax-free oil for Belarus' internal consumption, in line with an existing deal.
Experts estimate the new Russian demands would represent a $5 billion increase in costs for the poor former Soviet satellite, which buys about 20 million metric tons of Russian crude annually. Belarus consumes about a quarter and ships the rest onward in a lucrative cargo worth more than a third of the country's export revenues.
Russia is the main ally and sponsor of Belarus, but relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbors have been increasingly strained by financial arguments. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused the Kremlin of trying to subdue his country of 10 million people and to acquire key industrial assets.
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