Contents tagged with Belarus

  • Belarus and NATO discuss joint military exercises

    The Belarusian Defense Ministry has reported about the talks with NATO on holding joint exercises next year.

    TASS reports that the parties are discussing the joint "peacekeeping exercises"  as part of the Belarusian military training in the Italian NATO contingent.

    It is expected that the Belarusian unit will be part of the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon.

    "Speaking about conducting joint exercises with NATO, we are not talking about preparation yet, but about the negotiation process, …

  • As talks with Russia stall Lukashenko orders Belarus officials to start looking for alternative oil supplies

    Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed the heads of the Belarusian petrochemical industry to ensure the supply of oil from alternative sources within the next few days, reports the BelTA news agency. In the first place, Belarus officials consider delivering oil from the Baltic Sea port terminals by rail.

    Head of the Belneftekhim concern Andrei Rybakov said that after telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lukashenko instructed to complete negotiations …

  • Opponents of Belarus' integration with Russia intend to create ‘Homeland Protection Group’

    Protests against deeper integration with the Russian Federation continued in Minsk on Saturday, December 21. Even though the authorities did not approve the rally, no one was detained.

    Just over a hundred people attended the demonstration. People were holding national white-red-white flags, shouting the slogans "long live Belarus!" and "No alliances with Imperial Russia." "No Union with the aggressor," said one of the posters of opponents of Belarusian integration with Russia

    The protesters …

  • Belarusian President Lukashenko: several differences with Russia need to be resolved

    After talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the parties have conceptually agreed on the supply of energy, and specific prices will be determined soon, reports BelTA news agency.

    The Belarusian President noted that he does not rule out a new meeting with his Russian counterpart before the end of this year or early next year. "We have a couple of problems that we need to resolve, these are presidential issues," said …

  • Belarus hikes tariff on Russian oil transit

    The Belarusian company GomelTransNeft Druzhba plans to hike its tariff for transporting Russian oil through pipelines in Belarus by 16.6%, TASS news agency reports, citing the press service of Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS).

    “If there is no agreement on the size of the tariffs between the pipeline transport organizations of Russia and the Republic of Belarus, the mentioned issue must be dealt with by the tariff regulation authorities of Russia (FAS) and the Republic of Belarus ( …

  • Belarus replaces Russian loans with Chinese ones

    Belarus has signed an agreement to borrow 3.5 billion yuan (around $500 million) from China, announced the Belarusian Finance Ministry.

    The 5-year loan will be provided by the Shanghai branch of the China Development Bank. The loan is not tied to any particular project, and can be used for general purposes, including the servicing of government debt, supporting Belarus’s foreign currency reserves, and facilitating the development of bilateral trade.

    This is an “unprecedented” deal for Belarus, …

  • Russian and Belarusian Prime Ministers discuss integration and gas supply

    Russian and Belarusian Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev and Syarhey Rumas, discussed gas and oil supplies for 2020 during their meeting, reports the press service of the Belarusian Council of Ministers.

    The parties also discussed the schedule of meetings between the governments, as well as the implementation of the directions of the presidents of Russia and Belarus, which they outlined during their negotiations in Sochi on December 7. The Prime Ministers also agreed to hold a telephone …

  • Belarus intends to hold joint military exercises with NATO

    Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Oleg Belokonev said in an interview with Nasha Niva newspaper that Minsk is negotiating with the North Atlantic Alliance on the format of joint military exercises.

    At the same time, Belokonev stressed that NATO "must realize that Belarus is an ally of Russia."

    "Belarus is ready for joint exercises with NATO. There are talks on possible formats. But we will agree on this if  NATO understands that Russia is our strategic ally," said …

  • Putin and Lukashenko reach agreement on oil and gas prices

    Belarus and Russia have found ways to compensate for Belarus’s expenses that were caused by a Russian tax maneuver in the oil sector, said Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko on Sunday after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.

    According to Semashko, the leaders have found ways to compensate part of Belarus’s losses arising from the tax maneuver – roughly $400 million per year, the amount that Minsk earned through favorable oil prices.

    Semashko …

  • Russia and Belarus to create joint Parliament and Government

    Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko agreed to create a joint Parliament and government as part of the Union State.

    "The presidents agreed that the stated goals are ambitious, and they should not change. These goals include the transition to unified tax legislation, the creation of common markets for oil, gas, and electricity, the creation of a single Parliament and government with executive …