Lukashenka says Russia to scrap oil duties for Belarus
MINSK – Belarus says Russia has agreed to scrap duties on oil it supplies to the country from the beginning of next year.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in televised comments on Thursday that his government in turn had agreed to pass on to Russia the export duties it charges on products it makes from the imported Russian oil.
The agreement, thought to be worth up to $4 billion to the Belarusian economy, comes a week before a presidential election in which Lukashenka is a candidate.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Lukashenka today held surprise closed-door talks in Moscow.
The meeting was not announced in advance by either party and reporters were not allowed to attend any portion of the talks.
Relations between the two neighbors have cooled considerably in recent years as the sides fight over border tariffs and the price Belarus pays for Russian energy supplies, on which it relies.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!