Contents tagged with Lukashenko

  • Kremlin to rewrite Russian constitution to keep Putin in power

    Russia’s senior leaders are continuing to prepare the population for an extensive revision of the constitution that will reshape the country’s institutes of government authority for the first time in 30 years.

    The idea of changing the constitution, outlined in autumn last year by Constitutional Court Chairperson Valery Zorkin, was entrusted to State Duma Chairperson Vyacheslav Volodin to promote.

    For the second time in half a year, Volodin, former deputy head of the presidential …

  • 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 …

  • 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 …

  • Belarus hopes that it will maintain good relations with Ukraine after Poroshenko's departure

    Minsk hopes that Ukraine has a clear understanding of the importance of relationships with Belarus, stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei during the conference that was dedicated to the decade of the Eastern Partnership, BelTA reports.

     "I talked a lot on this topic with my colleague Klimkin. I think there is a clear understanding in Ukraine that Belarus is an important partner and they should never expect any negative actions from Belarus towards Ukraine," the …

  • Lukashenko: Dirty Russian oil cost Belarus ‘hundreds of millions’

    Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the damage caused to Belarusian companies by the “dirty” Russian oil in the Druzhba pipeline runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars, BelTA reports.

    “Journalists frequently mention this figure, and they are not far from the truth,” Lukashenko commented.

    The president explained that the assessment of the damage takes into account several factors. “The damage caused to the oil pipeline, the equipment itself in the pipeline – the pumps …

  • Lukashenko: overthrow of power in Belarus is impossible

    President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko believes it is impossible to overthrow the power in his country by force, TASS reports.

    In his words, it is impossible to shift the power in Belarus, for example, as in Venezuela. As an example, Lukashenko also cited Libya and Syria.  

    "We have experienced all this: hybrid and heated clashes, and an attempt to overthrow the constitutional system and the current leadership. Starting from this street, where the traffic police cars were turned over, from …

  • Former Lukashenko's security chief accused of accepting a bribe from Russian company

    Investigation Department of the KGB of Belarus charged with taking a bribe the former Deputy Secretary of the Security Council, Andrei Vtyurin. He was detained on May 3, according to the KGB’s website.

    "The day before he was caught red-handed when receiving 148 600 US dollars from the representative of the Russian commercial structure "G" for assistance in promoting its interests in the Republic of Belarus", — said in a statement.

    The KGB said that the representative of the Russian company …

  • Putin and Lukashenko discussed contaminated oil supply from Russia

    At the “One Belt, One Road” summit in China, Vladimir Putin announced that he had discussed the low-quality oil supply situation with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

    The president said it was necessary to conduct an investigation, not ruling out the involvement of Russian law enforcement and special services if the internal corporate investigation is not enough. “First of all, it is necessary to conduct an investigation at the level of Transneft itself, and to identify the …

  • Belarus turns away from Russian oil after quality scandal

    By the end of the year, Belarus plans to start buying oil from sources outside Russia after oil with excess levels of chlorine put Belarusian pipelines and refineries on the brink of technological collapse.

    Deliveries from alternate sources will come in from ports in the Baltic States and Ukraine, Deputy Director General of the Belarusian Oil Company (BNK) Sergey Grib said on Tuesday.

    The company is considering suppliers from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Azerbaijan that have grades of a similar …

  • 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 …