Belarus Insists on Oil Duties Abolishing from January, Foreign Ministry

«The fact that there are duties within the Customs Union is incompatible with the norms and principles of international trade», RIA Novosti quoted Andrei Yeudachenka.

According to the representative of Foreign Ministry of Belarus, Minsk hopes that the protocol of exceptions in a single trading area will be executed, and the issue will be solved. «We do not expect benefits from anyone and we expect that even in this five-year period all economic entities will operate under the same conditions», Andrei Yeudachenka said, adding that the Belarusian side had already taken into account «international prices in calculations». 

Minsk has not received Kremlin proposals on oil duties division, Yeudachenka

In addition, the deputy minister said that Minsk had not received an official offer from Russia on oil export duties division. «There was no formal offer. There was a kind of proposal, which resulted in the debate, in Russia as well», Andrei Yeudachenka said.

«We have not got an official document, so it is very difficult to discuss it. After Russia imposed total-lot oil duties, Belarus lost for the first eight months of this year up to two billion dollars. 1.6-2 billion dollars are an additional burden on our balance of trade and our balance of payments», the representative of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said.

In this case, Andrei Yeudachenka said about the issue of diversification of oil supplies to Belarus. «Diversification is absolutely essential. Not searching for alternative sources of oil we can get more pressure from our eastern partner, and further deterioration in conditions,» the deputy minister said.

Andrei Yeudachenka also noted that Minsk was considering options for cooperation with many countries on diversification . «We do not exclude any option. The more suppliers, the less vulnerable our economy will be,» the official said.