Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will meet with his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Rumas on Wednesday.
According to the press service of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers, the meeting is planned “to discuss topical issues of Russian-Belarusian cooperation, including in the context of integration processes within the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
As the press service of the government of the republic reported the day before, during the visit of Rumas to Moscow it is planned to discuss topical issues of bilateral cooperation. The meeting of heads of government will be held against the backdrop of falling world oil prices.
Oil quotations collapsed after the news that following the OPEC+ meeting on March 6, the participants could not agree on either changing the parameters of the deal or its extension. In particular, Russia offered to preserve the existing conditions and Saudi Arabia – to further reduce oil production. As a result, starting from April 1, none of the participants of the previous alliance will have any obligations to limit production. According to the media, Saudi Arabia announced that it intends to increase production and reduce oil prices.
On Monday, prices were down 30%. Against this background, Rumas said that the current situation gives Minsk additional opportunities to negotiate with Russia on rough supplies. Belarusian Prime Minister also added that the drop in oil prices equally affects the negotiations between Minsk and alternative suppliers.
February 21, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko reported on a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made an “unexpected offer” to Belarus on oil supplies to the republic. According to him, it was about the reduction, including through bonuses to Russian companies in the supply of oil to the republic, the negative effect for Minsk from the reduction of oil duties due to the tax maneuver in Russia. He said he instructed the Prime Minister of Belarus to study this proposal so that the governments of the two countries “finally come to some agreement.
Commenting on the Belarusian leader’s words about $300 million of compensation to Minsk, Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the heads of the two countries discussed oil supplies in a telephone conversation and the dialogue between the parties continues, but did not disclose the nuances.