Russia does not agree with decision of CIS Economic Court

The session of the Economic Court of the CIS has been rescheduled for January 19, 2011 at the request of the Russian side.

Russia is not going to annul duties for oil products delivered to Belarus, stated the deputy head of the Justice Ministry of Russia Vasily Likhachov, “Radio Svaboda” reports.

“It is not meant there that the court has taken a decision which makes Russia suspend lifting this duty,” Likhachov said.

He explained that the court has not obliged Russia, but just recommended that to Russia.

“As a sovereign state, Russia has such a right, and we will try to prove that next year,” Vasily Likhachov said.

The session of the Economic Court of the CIS has been postponed to January 19, 2011 at the request of the Russian side.

On October 8 the board of the Economic Court of the CIS recommended the government of Russia and Belarus to consider the issue of temporarily lifting the duties for oil products, delivered from Russia to Belarus.

In Minsk the board of the Economic Court issued a decision with which the petition of the Belarusian side was satisfied.

Belarus insists that according to the inter-governmental agreement on free trade, none of the sides should apply duties. So the export duty imposed by Russia this year on January 1 on petrochemical products delivered to Belarus, is considered illegal by the Ministry of Justice.

According to calculation of Belarusian economists, under the new formula of deliveries, losses of the Belarusian budget will exceed 2 billion dollars.