Contents tagged with Belarus

  • 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 …

  • 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 …

  • 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 …

  • 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 …

  • 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%), …

  • Belarus to finish pumping dirty oil back to Russia by August

    All of the contaminated oil in the Druzhba pipeline will be pumped back to Russia by the middle of August, said Andrei Verigo, chief engineer at the Belarusian company Gomeltransneft Druzhba, which oversees the transit of Russian oil to Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

    Verigo says that since 24 May, more than 200,000 tons of oil contaminated with organochlorides has been pumped back to Russia, while just under a million tons remains in Belarus. 868,000 tons …

  • Dirty oil scandal to cost Russia $5 billion at least

    The crisis surrounding the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was contaminated with organochlorine compounds at the end of April, is turning out to be more serious than even the most pessimistic predictions. The resumption of oil transit to Poland and Germany, initially promised within a week, and later by 21 May, has once again been delayed.

    The new date is 9 or 10 July, said a source familiar with the outcome of the negotiations between the Russian oil transport company Transneft and the Polish …

  • Poland demands compensation from Russia for dirty oil

    Russia and Poland are currently conducting negotiations on how the chlorine-contaminated oil is to be discharged from the Druzhba pipeline, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, as cited by TASS. Warsaw wants to know how much Russia will be willing to pay if Poland takes on the task of pumping out part of the substandard oil.

    Kozak noted that the matter of cleaning the pipeline has already been resolved with a number of other countries. “Standard oil is already being supplied to …

  • Ukraine imposes duties on cement from Russia, Belarus, and Moldova

    The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine adopted a decision on May 21 to impose anti-dumping duties on import of cement clinkers and Portland cement from Russia, Belarus, and Moldova reports the Press-service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT).

    Anti-dumping duties are imposed in the amount of 114.95% for goods from Russia, 57.03% for the products from Belarus and 94.46% for the goods from Moldova. The duties will be in effect for five years.

    The …

  • Belarus suspends transit of oil to Ukraine

    The transit of Russian oil from Belarus to Ukraine has been suspended due to the lack of free tankers in Ukraine that could store contaminated  oil, reported the press service of the Belneftekhim Concern.

    The oil routes leading to Ukraine are unstable and pumping has been suspended due to the lack of free tankers in Ukraine that could pump “dirty” oil through the pipelines. According to the new schedule, pumping will resume on night of May 19-20,” the concern noted.

    Belneftekhim also said …