There must be more to Belarus-Russia relations than gas, oil and other goods - Ambassador
<p> MINSK, Jul 2 - PrimePress. Relations between Belarus and Russia should not be limited to gas, oil and other goods, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev said in an online interview on July 1. </p> <p> </p> <p> “I wouldn’t like us to see a dispute on gas between two countries, a dispute that affects the system of bilateral relations, a huge complex, in our own way, it’s probably thousands of issues that define our relations. I would ask both you and our fellow journalists not to bring our relations to a primitive level, not to reduce our relations to several positions - gas, oil, kefir, dairy in the broad sense, meat. If we talk like that, first of all, we will be ourselves, if we talk about journalists, show everyone that we do not have the strength to understand much deeper, systematic, strategic relations, and then there is no desire to do so. I am convinced that neither Russian nor Belarusian journalists have such a dominant position,” Prime reports citing Mezentsev as saying. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, in late May 2020, Gazprom said they were ready to begin negotiations on gas supplies to Belarus from 2021 onwards as soon as the debt issue has been resolved. According to Gazprom estimates, Belarus’ debt for gas supplies stands at $165.6 million. The Energy Ministry of Belarus said earlier there was no such debt, but there was a disagreement between business entities on determining the cost of gas “taking into account its calorific value.” End </p>
2020-07-03
Primepress
There must be more to Belarus-Russia relations than gas, oil and other goods - Ambassador
MINSK, Jul 2 - PrimePress. Relations between Belarus and Russia should not be limited to gas, oil and other goods, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Dmitry Mezentsev said in an online interview on July 1.
“I wouldn’t like us to see a dispute on gas between two countries, a dispute that affects the system of bilateral relations, a huge complex, in our own way, it’s probably thousands of issues that define our relations. I would ask both you and our fellow journalists not to bring our relations to a primitive level, not to reduce our relations to several positions - gas, oil, kefir, dairy in the broad sense, meat. If we talk like that, first of all, we will be ourselves, if we talk about journalists, show everyone that we do not have the strength to understand much deeper, systematic, strategic relations, and then there is no desire to do so. I am convinced that neither Russian nor Belarusian journalists have such a dominant position,” Prime reports citing Mezentsev as saying.
As previously reported, in late May 2020, Gazprom said they were ready to begin negotiations on gas supplies to Belarus from 2021 onwards as soon as the debt issue has been resolved. According to Gazprom estimates, Belarus’ debt for gas supplies stands at $165.6 million. The Energy Ministry of Belarus said earlier there was no such debt, but there was a disagreement between business entities on determining the cost of gas “taking into account its calorific value.” End