Putin hails oil agreement with Belarus
Russian President Vladimir Putin today hailed the agreement that ended a bitter oil spat with neighbouring Belarus, saying that it meant a reduction of Moscow subsidies for the ex-Soviet ally.
Putin said that the deal would prompt the Belarusian government to conduct free-market reforms.
"That means a soft transition which is acceptable for the Belarusian partners," Putin told the Cabinet meeting in televised remarks, adding that Moscow would continue to provide financial support for Belarus.
Russia last week stopped shipping oil to Europe through a major pipeline that crosses Belarus.
Moscow accused Minsk of siphoning off oil to cover a transit fee it had imposed in response to a duty Russia placed on oil exports to Belarus. Germany, Poland and other European countries saw a disruption in oil supplies as a result.
Russian oil shipments resumed early on Thursday after Belarus lifted the transit fee, and the two countries agreed on Friday to lower the Russian export duty by about 70%.
They also agreed that Russia would get the lion's share of profits from refined oil products Belarus makes using Russian oil and then sells to Europe.
