UPDATE 2: Report: Russia cancels oil pdt imports term for oil sales to Minsk

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MOSCOW, Apr 4 (PRIME) – Russia will resume oil exports to Belarus in the previous volume of 24 million tonnes annually until 2014, while Belarus will no longer be liable to ship one million tonnes of duty-free oil products to Russia in exchange, channel Belarus 1 reported on Tuesday.

“Supplies of Russian oil to Belarus will resume in the previous volume really soon, no later than on April 13,” a newscaster said. She said that the abolishment of the obligatory oil product supply rule will bring U.S. $150 million annually to the Belarusian budget, and the overall effect of the agreement on the Belarusian economy will reach $2 billion in three years.

Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said, “(Russia) will resume oil supplies to Belarus in the volumes envisaged by the current agreement, I mean, 24 million tonnes a year. These volumes must be supplies from this year through 2024.”

He also said that out of 24 million tonnes, 18 million tonnes will be sent to Belarusian refineries and 6 million tonnes will be “readmitted to customs” and the duties from this procedure, on which he did not elaborate, will be received by Belarus.

In early 2016, Minsk said that Russian prices for gas are unfair and started paying less for it unilaterally. Moscow cut duty-free oil supplies to Belarus saying there were shortfalls in duty-free oil product shipments to Russia, which Minsk was to carry out in return for the oil.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that Belarus will pay over $720 million to Gazprom’s unit as part of gas debt settlement, while Gazprom will provide a discount for gas supplies to Belarus for 2018–2019. Gazprom will discuss the size of the discount with Belarusian colleagues soon, he said.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky said Russia will refinance Belarus’s $750–800 million debt.

“We are talking about refinancing of debt, which is due in the framework of our intergovernmental loans this year. This is around $750–800 million – the main debt and the interest sum to be redeemed. A principal decision on refinancing of the liabilities has been made, now the agreements are being formalized,” he said.

Belorussian Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats told reporters that Minsk expects Russia to abolish food import restrictions in April.

“We think that this must happen in April,” Zayats said.

He said that Russia’s Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight Service will check the safety of products at Belarusian facilities which were forbidden to import food later this week.

Spokeswoman for the Russian authority Yulia Melano said that the experts will visit Belarus on Wednesday.

Zayats said that a joint panel of the Russian and Belarusian agricultural authorities will be convoked in Moscow on April 15–30.

On February 3, Lukashenko offered to start a criminal case against head of the Russian veterinary regulator Sergei Dankvert over a prohibition of imports of beef from the Minsk Region and restricted imports from numerous plants producing other food. Lukashenko said that the restrictions were introduced because Russian food producers had failed to withstand competition. The regulator issued several statements later, reiterating that the prohibitions are legal and justified.

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