Siamashka Flew To Moscow To Importune For Discount On Gas

The "top officials" of the government will try to settle the oil and gas issue.

The Belarusian government delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Siamashka, is in Moscow for regular talks, bdg.by writes.

"The negotiations with the Russian side on the settlement of the oil and gas issue are taking place in a permanent mode. Experts and heads of relevant departments, including the "top officials" of the government, participate in the negotiations," – the source told RIA Novosti, commenting on the negotiations on the settlement of the Belarusian-Russian oil and gas disagreement.

It is to be recalled that something went wrong in the Belarusian-Russian relations long before. The Belarusian authorities are actively looking again for an alternative to Russian oil products: in September 2016, Lukashenka demanded to find an alternative to Russian gas, repeating the demand in early 2017.

Earlier, Russia sharply reduced oil supplies to Belarus in the third quarter of 2016: on the whole, the decrease was 2.3 million tons of oil for the quarter (from 5.8 million tons to 3.5 million). Because of that, Belarusian oil refineries reduced the output of oil products, which hurt the oil-dependent economy of Belarus.