Contents tagged with Belarus
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Kremlin: Belarus must transition to a single currency with Russia
Belarus and Russia must transition to a single currency, said Russia’s Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko in a broadcast of Belarus’s TV channel, ONT.
During a visit to Belarus, which took place four days after Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko spoke to each other in Valaam, Matviyenko said than no one in Russia has even brought up the topic of merging the two countries.
“This is a union of states, but it needs to be a full-fledged union,” she emphasized.
“Full-fledged …
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Belarus to hike tariff on Russian oil transit
Effective 1 August, Belarus will sharply increase the tariff on the transit of Russian oil to Europe.
According to the Interfax news agency, the Belarusian pipeline operating company Gomeltransneft Druzhba notified the Russian oil transit company Transneft about the changes through a letter sent on 1 July.
The cost of pumping oil through the Druzha pipeline, which accounts for 20% of all Russia’s oil exports, will be hiked by 21.7%.
The letter states that this is necessary in order to …
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President of Belarus Lukashenko rules out union with Russia, borrows $600 million from China
The Belarusian government is concluding negotiations to borrow $600 million from China, announced Belarusian Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Belkovets.
“Initially we were counting on a loan from the Russian Federation,” Belkovets noted, while talking at the Fitch conference in Minsk. The loan would have been roughly the same amount - $630 million.
But the money was tied up. On April 1, after several rounds of intergovernmental talks following President Lukashenko’s visit to the Kremlin bearing …
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Russia to pay Kazakhstan $76 million for 'dirty' oil
The Russian state-owned company Transneft will pay a compensation of about $76 million to the Kazakh national oil transporter KazTransOil for contaminated oil, reports Deutsche Welle news agency.
"Loss of quality, downtime, and storage are included in the amount of compensation," - said one of the sources of Bloomberg. A formal agreement between the two operators has not yet been signed. Earlier, Reuters reported that Russia will pay Kazakhstan a fixed amount for contaminated oil.
According …
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Belarus plans to buy Russian Su-30SM fighter jets
Belarussian Minister of Defense Andrei Ravkov said that Belarus plans to purchase several Su-30SM fighter jets from Russia, reports Interfax.
"The contract is concluded, and it is confirmed. I know that these four aircraft are manufactured now, and are almost ready, so if President Lukashenko makes a decision, they will be purchased in the prescribed manner," he said.
The Minister noted that there are no specific delivery dates. "The contract was made on suspensive terms, linked to the …
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Serbia begins joint military exercises with Russia and Belarus
On June 14, the international exercises Slavic Brotherhood 2019 started in Serbia with the participation of Russia and Belarus.
According to the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry, the joint exercises of the three countries will be held until June 27. About 600 troops will participate in them.
About 200 paratroopers from Russia, 300 soldiers from Serbia and up to 60 military from Belarus participate in the exercise. The exercises will involve more than 50 units of wheeled and …
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US extends sanctions against Lukashenko and a number of Belarusian officials
US President Donald Trump has extended sanctions against a number of Belarusian officials for one more year, the press service of the White House said.
The corresponding document addressed to the US Congress is posted on the White House website.
The document states that, “The actions and policies of certain members of the Government of Belarus and other persons continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
“For this …
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Belarusian government faces problems with $600 million loan from Russia
Belarus has had problems arranging a $600 million government loan from Russia, said Belarusian Finance Minister Maxim Yermolovich, as cited by BelTA.
The finance minister explained that Minsk had planned to repay its foreign debts this year using a $600 million loan from the Russian government, a $200 million tranche from the Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund, a $700 million budget surplus, and funds borrowed on the internal market.
“In principle, it was enough to completely close …
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Poland confirms resumption of clean oil supply from Russia
The Polish oil logistics company PERN has confirmed that the supply of clean oil from Russia has resumed, Polish Radio reports.
“On the morning of 9 June, Russia resumed the supply of clean oil through Belarus to the Polish transmission system,” the report states.
According to PERN spokesperson Katarzyna Krasinska, the company has implemented a mechanism to constantly monitor the quality of the oil arriving from the east.
“This morning the supply of oil not contaminated with organochlorides …
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Russian oil extraction hits three year low
The contamination of Urals oil with chlorides and the subsequent suspension of the Druzhba pipeline, which accounts for 20% of Russia’s oil exports, has forced oil companies to drastically cut down on extraction.
In the first three days of June, the average extraction of oil and gas condensate in Russia fell from 11.11 to 11.87 million barrels per day, a source familiar with the operational statistics told Reuters.
Compared to March, extraction has decreased by 430,000 barrels per day (3.8%), …