Leanid Zaika: What Fool Will Say That Lukashenka "Won" Gas Chaffer?

Shouts and jumps in place about gas is an attempt to divert people's attention from the bankruptcy of economic policy.

Economist Leanid Zaika has stated this in his commentary to Salidarnasts.

– Personally, I pay more for gas, – he remarks. – I looked carefully at the payment order that came to me, and I saw: as a Minsk citizen living in an apartment with a gas stove, I pay $ 140 (per thousand cubic meters). And it seems to me that no one will lower these gas prices to me and millions of Belarusians.

That is why Belarusians have no reason to rejoice or grieve over the new Belarusian-Russian agreements, the expert believes:

– And the fact that the gas is received by the directors of the poorly operating enterprises, and they are in electricity arrears ... So let's change these directors. Shouts and jumps in place about gas are an attempt to divert people's attention from inefficient economic policies.

The economist believes that there was no controversy between Belarus and Russia, but only "unwillingness to be liable for contracts":

– If in December we had to pay 350 million dollars, then – 500 already at the prices that we ourselves came up with, now it is 700 ... And what fool will say that we have won something? And the fact that oil is given to us is also not a victory, as it’s processed by Belarusian oligarchs. 7 million tons of oil would be enough for Belarusians, even if they drive their cars every day. The rest of the 24 million tons that are shipped to Belarus will simply get to the pockets of those people who love power.

The population should think about something else in this situation, the economist believes.

– Many people forget how much taxes we pay out of petrol. Half of the price is the excise and VAT paid by our population, and not by Russians, Armenians or Chukchi, who sell this oil to us. That's what Belarusians should think about, – Leanid Zaika concludes.