BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/05/2006

Belarus warns against price discrimination

MINSK, Belarus, May 19 (UPI) -- Belarus' Deputy Prime Minister has warned against energy price discrimination, Belapan Minsk news agency reported Thursday.

Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Kabyakow, who is also chairman of the Integration Committee of the Eurasian Economic Community, or EAEC, whose members include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, spoke out against what he called discrimination against "Belarusian economic entities" in energy price formation after an EAEC Integration Committee meeting.

During the meeting, Kabyakow said, members discussed the performance of the energy council under the Integration Committee.

"The Belarusian side is thoroughly monitoring the contents of the agreements signed within the framework of the EAEC, the SES (Single Economic Space of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan) and between Belarus and Russia within the union state's framework," the deputy prime minister said.

Belarus, he said, views the principle of equality -- of conditions and of competitive policies for economic entities -- as key.

Asked about energy resources and pricing, Kabyakow said: "As for basic principles of competitiveness concerning resources, property or real estate, all this will definitely be included in an agreement that provides for the construction of a fully fledged customs union."

Source:

http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=20060519-125752-6348r