Gas is likely to be paid in «militarized» cash :: Charter'97 :: News

The money received from selling weapons is likely to be used by Minsk for setting off the gas debts.

Active discussion of another gas conflict between Russia and Belarus was underway in the Russian mass media last week. The press was mainly interested in the financial sources used by the Belarusian government for making an economically painless payment of the debt to Gazprom, the “Belarusi I Rinak” newspaper runs.

In this respect Alyksandr Lukashenka was often quoted :the required USD 460 million was taken from the state reserves and the borrowing was promised to be returned in a month time at the expense of beneficial credits granted by the friendly countries( Venezuela , in particular). Among the lenders Iran and China were also mentioned. Heads of those states were referred by the Belarusian president to the most reliable friends.

However, another version is still more interesting. It runs that the Venezuelan, Iranian and, maybe, Chinese cash was employed in settlements of the Belarusian government with Gazprom. But it was received by Minsk not in the form of the borrowing but as the payment for modern defense technologies.

The supporters of this viewpoint refer to the interview given by State secretary of the security council Viktar Sheiman to the Sunday TV program” Panorama Weekly” 22 July. Summing up the results of the Belarusian governmental delegation visit to Venezuela Sheiman informed the TV viewers that Minsk and Karakas drafted contracts in military technological sphere to the amount over USD 1 billion for execution. “They are to be signed by the end of July this year”.

Though conclusion of these agreements was not officially acknowledged the deal is likely to have been made. The declaration of the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chaves on the eve of his latest visit to Belarus can be considered the indirect proof to this fact.

On his way to his friend A.Lukashenka the head of Venezuela informed that the main objective of his visiting Minsk was finalizing of the contract on selling the anti-missile complex system with a range of 200-300 km with “radars for long –distant detection an missiles of a corresponding range” the control system completed with all components with antimissile system to Venezuela.

To the experts’ mind such purchase is likely to cost USD 1 billion, half of the amount in the form of the advance might have been transferred by the Venezuelan president to his Belarusian amigo.

The same may also refer to Mahmud Ahmadinejad whose generals are seriously interested not only in the modern antimissile systems but practically in a wide range of military technologies which can be provided today by Minsk.

Though the Chinese comrades behave in a more secret way than our Iranian and Venezuelan friends, it is obvious to everybody that the lifetime and volumes of military cooperation of Minsk and Peking converted into cash will manifest spectacular figures. Consequently the probable Chinese origin of the money received as advance payment for valid and would-be contracts and used for gas payments is fairly probable.

Thus selling of military technologies with developing countries can really become a serious support to the Belarusian authorities in settling the problematic issues of supplying the country with fuel and energy.