MINSK (Reuters) – Russia and Belarus failed yesterday to agree a new oil supply deal, the Belarussian government said, in a development that has revived fears of supply cutoffs to parts of Europe and pushed up prices.
“The Russian side has de facto ignored arguments and calculations presented by the Belarussian side,” the Belarussian government said in a statement.
It said its delegation had left Moscow but added that both sides had confirmed their readiness to continue talks. Russian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Hopes that the two countries could agree a new deal got a boost on Friday when Belarus sent its highest delegation so far to Moscow, chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko.
Talks repeatedly have broken down over the New Year period, resulting in a brief interruption of supplies to Belarussian refineries.
Europe, mindful of a dispute in 2007 that cut around a million barrels per day of Russian oil supplies via Belarus, is keen for the ex-Soviet states to resolve their differences. The latest dispute, which centres on the tariffs Belarus must pay for Russian oil, has yet to affect supplies to Europe, but it was a contributing factor to oil’s push this week to a 15-month high above $83 a barrel.
Russia repeatedly has clashed with ex-Soviet states over energy pricing, prompting politicians from the European Union and the United States to accuse the Kremlin of using its energy might to bring its neighbours to heel.
