Terms of oil supplies to Belarus based on Kremlin’s scenario

Moscow is going to follow the acting arrangements regarding supplies of Russia oil to Belarus.

It was announced in Moscow on March 30 by Aleksey Likhachev, the director of the foreign trade analysis and regulation department of the Economic Development Ministry, REGNUM informs.

According to Likhachev, Russia considers the oil to be serious budget goods. “It’s needles to speak about a share of oil duties in the Russian budget. We provide for oil use by the Belarusian state,” Likhachev noted.

“We agreed that 6.3 million tonnes of Russian oil are supplied to Belarus on a duty-free basis. We came to a conclusion that it is an amount of oil Belarus needs for producing oil products and work of Belarusian chemical industry. The rest supplies attract export duties,” Likhachev noted.

According to him, this stays in line with the norms of the Customs Union. Certain goods are included in demand balance of the union territory, while the goods that are not included in the balance attract duties.

To a question if Russia could revise its position on terms of oil supplies to Belarus, taking into account the fact that the Belarusian authorities find imposing export duties in the Customs Union illegal and sued against Russia, Likhachev answered: “July 1, when united customs territory begins its work, is not a subject to review bilateral agreements. I haven’t seen Belarus’s lawsuit against Russia. I know about it from Belarusian deputy prime minister Andrei Kabyakou. We understand the context of what is happening, but we do not understand the legal structure offered by Belarus.”

“There are different views on the use of export duties in customs unions. Some unions use them, the others do not,” he said.

Likhachev noted that Russia will follow the acting agreement signed in the winter 2010 in the issue of oil supplies to Belarus in the short term prospective Russian side will be guided by the current agreement - signed in winter 2010.