Interfax: Belarus and Russia verging towards a new “oil war”

Russia can take it upon itself to temporarily discontinue oil deliveries to Belarus and even interrupt transit.

The situation that has shaped in Belarusian-Russian dialogue on the terms of oil and oil products trade in 2011 gives grounds to forecast another exacerbation of bilateral relations, Interfax-Zapad writes.

The fact is that the term of the intergovernmental Belarusian-Russian protocol on oil trade signed on January 27, 2010, expires on December 31 this year. In the situation when a little more than a month and a half is left for the expiration of the term of the existing legal mechanism of oil export from Russia is left, the sides have not reached visible progress in agreeing upon the procedure of oil and oil products trade.

At this stage two variants are discussed simultaneously. The first one, offered by the Belarusian side, recommends in fact prolongation for the year 2011 of the mechanism which worked this year, but with consideration of increased quota of duty-free oil deliveries to Belarus from 6.3 million tons to 6.7 million tons.

The Russian side represented by deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov, publicly offered to replace oil duties for Belarus to export duties for Belarusian oil products, which would be given to the Russian budget. At present such duties do not exist in Belarus.

The both variants are still at the stage of discussion by experts, which increases uncertainity in the key segment of economy for Belarus.

Commenting n the situation to Interfax-Zapad, a source in Belarusian state bodies stated that at this stage of talks “Russia lays claims for the entire volume of export duties for oil and oil products exported from the territory of Belarus, except for oil refining from Venezuela.”

“At the same time, the Russian side counts upon duties from exported oil produced in Belarus (1.7 mln tons a year), and for oil products produced from it, and for duties from export of oil products from any other oil, except for Venezuelan,” he added.

In its turn, “the Belarusian side is ready to give to the Russian budget only export duties from export of oil products produced from Russian oil,” the interlocutor informed.

According to him, “it is unlikely that the bilateral agreement on the mechanism of collecting duties in oil deliveries to Belarus would be successfully agreed upon before the New year.”