Pres: Minsk loses 1.5 bln Belarusian rbl on oil woes with Moscow

MINSK, Aug 4 (PRIME) -- Minsk’s budget has lost 1.5 billion Belarusian rubles (over U.S. $600 million) due to disagreements over oil with Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday in his address to the parliament and the people.

"Unlike the rest of the world, we have not closed the facilities in this uneasy situation, and we sent 1.5 billion (Belarusian) rubles additionally to those who most needed state aid. And this happened in conditions when our budget has not received 1.5 billion (Belarusian) rubles due to oil disputes with Russia," Lukashenko said.

Belarus is implementing a strategy aimed at minimizing dependence of its economy on one or two countries until 2015, he also said.

The country lost U.S. $9.5 billion of economic growth over five years due to trade wars, unfair prices and costly loans, Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus is horrendously bad at protecting its domestic market.

Belarus also plans to create new infrastructure for oil and gas supply by 2025, he said.

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