Contents tagged with Minsk
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Ukraine stops Russian oil transit
The national operator of Ukraine's oil transport system Ukrtransnafta in its message on Facebook announced that on the evening of April 25 Ukrainian side was forced to suspend Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
"In accordance with the terms of the current agreement, Ukrtransnafta has the right to stop accepting Russian oil, if the raw materials do not meet the quality indicators. All material losses are borne by the party who did not comply with their duties," said the operator. …
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Belarus limits export of petroleum products from Russia
Belarus will temporarily limit deliveries of petroleum products for export due to the quality of Russian oil, said Deputy Chairman of the Belneftekhim concern Vladimir Sizov after an operational meeting of personnel monitoring the supply of oil, BelTA reported.
It was explained that the need to limit exports comes from “the active risk of processing raw materials with degraded quality” and carrying out the planting season in Belarus. Sizov noted that deliveries will resume after the “the …
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Lukashenko threatens to limit Russian oil transit to Europe
Russia-Belarus relations are being stretched to their limits. In response to the Russian phytosanitary regulatory authority’s recent decision to ban the import of Belarusian apples and pears, Minsk has now threatened to target Russia’s oil transit to Europe.
Russia “has already grown so brazen that it has started to force our hand,” said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.
He added that, if needed, Belarus is prepared to close the oil pipelines for repair, even if this …
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Putin decides to lend Belarus $600 million
Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to grant Minsk a $600 million government loan, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Monday. The funds will be used to refinance the repayment of prior loans issued by Moscow.
Siluanov also noted that, by the end of April, Belarus may also receive a $200 million tranche from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD).
According to the finance minister, the countries are currently discussing the procedures …
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Russian media representatives were not allowed to enter Ukrainian polling station in Minsk
Russian media representatives were not allowed to enter the polling station in Minsk for the election of the president of Ukraine. They could only take pictures behind the fence of the embassy. According to the Radio Svoboda correspondent, this was the election commission’s decision. Russian agencies TASS, RIA-Novosti, the TV channels Ren-TV and NTV correspondents were filming and interviewing Ukrainian citizens only outside on the street.
On the other hand, representatives of Belarusian, …
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Belarus asks Russia for loan to repay $600 million debt
Minsk has asked Moscow for a loan to refinance the debt of $600 million, said Maxim Yermolovich, Minister of Finance of Belarus, BelTA reported.
“We have been discussing the possibility of refinancing the entire amount of the payments on Russian government loans in 2019. The amount of these payments is $600 million,” he said.
According to the minister, the implementation of these plans depends on the decision of the Russian government to approve the loan. Yermolovich added that the funds for …
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Kremlin: Russia will not deploy missiles in Belarus in response to US withdrawal from Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Mikhail Babich, the Russian Ambassador to Belarus, and special representative for the development of trade and economic cooperation stated that Russia is not planning on deploying its missiles in Belarus in response to the US withdrawing from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. According to him, Moscow and Minsk already have a joint plan for defense and security and the countries will adhere to them.
“As for the deployment of missiles on the territory of Belarus, this, of …
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Russia begins revision of Union treaty with Belarus
Moscow has started to revise its treaty from 1999 which established the Union State with Belarus. The work is being done as part of the bilateral integration work group, said Russian Ambassador to Belarus Mikhail Babich on 23 January, as reported by Interfax.
“The Russian part of the group has started working. They are currently making an inventory of all the terms of the union treaty according to the blocks: economic, social, on the state governance organs, on matters of security and military …
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Belarusian President Lukashenko threatens to break off alliance with Russia
Russia risks losing its “sole ally” in the west, Belarus, if it refuses to compensate Minsk for the losses arising from a Russian tax maneuver in the oil sector, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Interfax in an interview.
According to Lukashenko, if the monetary dispute with Russia’s leaders is not resolved, it will not be a catastrophe for Belarus.
The amount in question is in the region of $400 million per year, the amount that the Belarusian budget earns from the fact that …
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Belarus and NATO discuss prospects of cooperation
On December 10, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Andrei Dapkiunas met with the Head of NATO’s Arms Control and Coordination Section, William Alberque before the third round of the experts’ consultations between Belarus and NATO on Confidence and Security Building Measures, the press-service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry reports.
The parties exchanged their views on the current state and prospects for further Belarus-NATO cooperation and indicated increased efforts by …