Report: Pres: Minsk wants Russian oil, competitor talks not sham

MINSK, Jan 24 (PRIME) -- Belarus will not stop Russian oil purchases but the efforts to find an alternative source are not a bluff or a way to raise stakes in the negotiations with Russia, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday, as cited by newswire Belta.

“We have started to test these routes, we want to see what will happen, what losses we will have as compared with the current price of Russian oil,” the president said.

“This is not a bluff, not what they say ‘Lukashenko is raising stakes before the negotiations’. No stakes. We are just looking at what we can get, what we will lose then.”

He said that the country was in negotiations with the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and was promised to receive as much oil as needed.

“Belarus is in talks with all participants of the global market: the Americans, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates,” Lukashenko said.

“I have brilliant relations with them. They say, “We are going to ship as much oil as you need.” Sure, at a global price. But the quality is better.”

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