Ukraine Changes Its Mind to Recognize the Debt to Belarus

18.08.2010 15:43
Архив Редакция

Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus, Roman Bezsmertnyi, stated that Kiev does not recognize the existence of $134 million's debt of Ukraine to Belarus. "Belarus connects the debt, formed during the collapse of the USSR, with the border issue. This is the main obstacle for the exchange of ratification instruments", Ukrainian diplomat said.

Moreover, he stated that Ukraine did not intend to pay the debt, demanded by Minsk. «The Ukrainian side does not see the need to be responsible for something that does not exist, and for enterprises belonged to the former Soviet Union», the Ambassador said, adding that Belarus and Ukraine continued to consult on the matter after all, Korrespondent.net informs.

We’ll recall that in June Bezsmertnyi stated in an interview to Zerkalo Nedeli that Ukraine was ready to pay its debt to Belarus of $134 million to unblock the process of the ratification of Belarusian-Ukrainian treaty on the state border.

During the collapse of the USSR, Belarusian enterprises supplied products to Ukraine, which were not paid. Minsk believes that Ukraine should pay the debt, but Kiev supposes that the debt was accumulated at USSR times and should not be paid.

Border treaty was signed in 1997 and it was ratified by Ukraine the same year. Belarus has been blocking its ratification for 13 years. Minsk demanded Kiev to pay the debt of Ukrainian enterprises to Belarus, accumulated before 1992.

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