Have not Putin and Lukashenka agreed about anything?

Belarusian experts commented on yesterday’s meeting of the rulers of Russia and Belarus.

“I do not thing that Lukashenka has agreed on something with Putin on the oil supplies for 2013 at yesterday’s negotiations in Moscow”, - an economic observer Tatiana Manionak stated in an interview to the charter97.org web-site.

According to the expert, one of the factors why Belarus cannot manage to agree on Russian oil supplies are because of the “solvents-thinners” business this year and short deliveries of petrol to the Russian market:

“The Belarusian party hopes for 23 million tons. So far the parties, apparently, will keep negotiating. Considering the reconstruction of the refinery and that the budget for 2013 was formed based on importing 23 million tons of Russian oil, the supplies of that amount are the most desirable.

However considering certain problems in the relations of Belarus and Russia, when Belarus failed to follow the conditions of the balance of oil products supplies to the Russian market, and also considering the issue of export of solvents and thinner, so far they cannot manage to agree on the Russian oil supplies for the next year”.

“I think, that the negotiation over that issue will keep going and some compromise will be reached”, - the expert summarized.

We would remind that recently the ruler’s press-service reported that on 19 December during the bilateral negotiations in Moscow Lukashenka and Putin discussed the issues of cooperation in the energy dimension, including forming the balance of oil and oil products for 2013.