Belarus to Get $500Mln in Surplus Revenue in 2017 Under New Deal With Russia

MINSK (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday following talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that Moscow and Minsk had resolved all controversial issues and agreed to revise the existing bilateral agreements, including in the oil-and-gas sector.

"As a result…summing up all these issues — oil, gas, etc — it is some half-a-billion dollars for Belarus in economic benefits in 2017, and about $800 million annually in 2018-2019,"Semashko said in an interview with Belarus-1 television.

Moscow-Minsk relations in the gas and oil sphere have been complicated as of late, while several disagreements resulted in the aggravation of bilateral political relations and obstruction of Russian oil transit to the European Union.

The most recent dispute escalated in 2016 after Minsk called Russian gas prices unfair and unilaterally reduced them. By the 2016 fall, Belarus owed $270-300 million for Russian gas. Minsk refused to acknowledge the debt, with Russia reducing its duty-free oil exports to Belarus saying it was due to inadequate gas payments and insufficient petroleum products’ shipments to Russia. Belarusian authorities had also increased rates on the transit of Russian oil via the country's territory.

In March, the Russian and Belarusian prime ministers discussed the dispute. However, according to Novak, Minsk refused to repay its $700-million debt without receiving substantial preferences.