Pres says Belarus formed workgroup for issues with Russia

MOSCOW, Dec 29 (PRIME) -- Belarus has formed its part of a workgroup to solve disputed issues with Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

“We, as well as you, as I know, are working to solve an array of issues which we need to consider, which are standing on the way of our integration. We have made the lineup of the workgroup as well as you,” Lukashenko said adding that the workgroup will start its activities after the Christmas holidays.

On Wednesday, Putin and Lukashenko failed to align their positions on compensation for the Russian tax maneuver. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Moscow is ready to compensate Minsk for the changes by providing subsidies to Belarusian refineries only if the Russia–Belarus Union State continues to integrate on the initiative by Belarus.

In August, Putin signed into law a bill on the final stage of a tax reform, which implies reduction of the oil export duty by 5 percentage points annually from the current 30% within six years starting from 2019.

For Belarus, the reform will mean a higher price of oil imported from Russia and a lower income from export duties, as Russia delivers 18 million tonnes of oil to the Belarusian refineries every year and additional 6 million tonnes participate in a re-export mechanism sending the export duties to Belarus’s budget.

Belarus estimates its losses from the Russian oil tax maneuver at up to U.S. $11 billion over six years and the 2019 budget’s losses at around $300 million.

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