Stanislau Bagdankevich: Minsk has not yet faced real consequences of Russian power sources price raise :: Charter'97 :: News

Russian power sources price raise has affected the Belarusian economy but “the crucial deterioration” has not taken place, yet, minister of statistics of Belarus Uladzimir Zynousky declared. Minister Zynousky considers that the new conditions of the Russian power sources deliveries negatively affected the foreign trade turnover of Belarus. For example, the crude oil deliveries from Russia decreased by one- third in the first quarter. And this resulted in downfall of the petrochemicals export from Belarus to Europe.

Former chairman of the Belarusian National Bank Stanislau Bagdankevich presumes that Minsk has not yet faced the real consequences of Russian power sources price raise. In his interview with the “Vremya Novostei” newspaper he remarked, “Nothing happened in the first quarter. The question is what the government is going to say when the Russian power sources prices really go up”.

Stanislau Bagdankevich mentioned that Minsk is going to resort to foreign borrowings, including the Russian loan of USD 1-1.5 billion. “In case of receiving the loans the problems may be hidden. But without economic reforms such policy may only postpone the crises”, he considers.

It won’t be so easy for Minsk to get the loans, as they agree to grant them on the market conditions, chairman of the Union of Entrepreneurs Alyaksandr Patupa supposes. In his talk to the “Vremya Novostei” he stressed. “The circle of countries working under market conditions closes around Belarus. That is why we have either to adjust ourselves to the market conditions or arrange an enclave here which is to resist the capitalism offensive, but it’s the worst way”.