Contents tagged with Belarus
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Belarus to stop buying Russian electricity in 2018
Belarus has decided not to buy electricity from Russia at the prices proposed by Russia, as announced by Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik, Belta news agency reports.
As of 2018, the country plans to completely stop importing electricity.
The minister made this statement after concluding negotiations with Russia on the purchase of electricity. “We reached the conclusion that we will not buy it at Russia’s prices, instead we will replace it with our own generation,” he said.
Previously, …
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Russia and Belarus to increase expenditure on joint military facilities
The Union State of Russia and Belarus plans to spend nearly 500 million rubles ($8.53 million USD) on military, border and information security, RBC news agency report citing the Union State Parliamentary Assembly press liaison, Andrei Shakhorsky. The relevant new programs are included in the Union State’s budget for 2018, which was adopted by the Union State Parliamentary Assembly on December 16.
The session with parliamentarians of both countries was chaired by State Duma spokesperson …
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Ukraine expels Belarusian diplomat in response to expulsion of Ukrainian diplomatic advisor
Belarus recently announced that the adviser of the Embassy of Ukraine in Belarus, Ihor Skvortsov was persona non-grata. To reciprocate, Ukraine expelled the Belarusian diplomat from the country, said Mariana Betsa, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
"Because the Belarusians declared persona non-grata and expelled a Ukrainian diplomat, Ukraine, guided by the principle of reciprocity, also expelled the Belarusian diplomat from the country," Betsa told Interfax- …
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Belarusian KGB: Arrested Ukrainian journalist admits to being intelligence officer
The Belarusian State Security Committee (KGB) said that the arrested Ukrainian journalist Pavlo Sharoyko has confessed to being a Ukrainian intelligence officer and working in the country under cover. This was announced by the KGB’s official spokesperson Dmitry Pobyarzhin.
The Belarusian KGB claims that Sharoyko created an agent network with a number of Belarusian citizens, whom he paid to collect military and political intelligence information.
“In light of his work experience as the head of …
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Belarus declares its readiness to provide a peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas
Belarus is ready to provide peacekeeping contingent to the Donbas, if it receives consent from all interested parties, as announced at a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei.
"We are ready to allocate an appropriate peacekeeping contingent, if it is acceptable to all interested parties, in order to participate in solving peacekeeping tasks," said Makei.
He also noted that in October 2014, Belarusian President …
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IMF refuses loan to Belarus
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Belarus to abolish the so-called "tax on parasitism".
Based on the outcomes of the Fund's mission in Minsk, the IMF also proposed that the Belarusian authorities abolish the target for the monthly salary, which should be reached by the end of 2017. Instead, the IMF recommends for Belarus "to allow enterprises to adjust their salaries based on labor productivity."
The head of the IMF mission, Peter Dolman, also reported on the suspension of …
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Putin signs decree on unified air defense system with Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ratified the protocol to the agreement on joint protection of the airspace of the external border of the Union State and the creation of a unified regional air defense system of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
The agreement itself appeared on February 2, 2009 and the protocol was signed in Minsk on November 2, 2016. The State Duma adopted the corresponding bill on October 20, 2017 while the Russian Federation Council approved it on October 25.
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Media: NATO prepares report accusing Russia of lying about Zapad-2017 military exercise
NATO experts analyzed satellite images of the Zapad 2017 exercises and found tens of thousands of soldiers, while Russia assured that fewer than 13,000 military men participated in the maneuvers, as reported by Die Welt, citing sources in NATO.
Exercises with military formations exceeding 13,000 people require the participation of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), however, they were not present at the maneuvers.
According to Die Welt, NATO is going …
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Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: Six thousand Russian troops still in Belarus after Zapad 2017 Exercises
About six thousand Russian soldiers who took part in joint military maneuvers of the Zapad 2017 exercises are still in Belarus, stated Andrei Lysenko, press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on ATO issues, according to news agency UNN.
“A combination of Russian and Belarusian forces, totaling about 12,000 troops, was in Belarus. Of these, 5,800 were from Russia. The military understands that the headquarters and other units remain in the territory of Belarus, and international …
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Polish Ministry of Defense: Ukraine’s information about Russian troops staying in Belarus after Zapad-2017 exercises should be taken seriously
During a broadcast of Polish TV on Saturday, Polish Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz, stated that the Ukrainians are very well informed about the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises Zapad 2017, and suggested that Ukraine’s information about that Russian troops staying in Belarus after these exercise should be taken seriously.
"We are carefully studying the information from Ukraine. Ukraine is very well-versed in the affairs of Russians. I would treat their information very seriously," …