From: Ad 

http://www.kyivpost.com/bn/25693/

Here's hoping.....

I think Lukashanka has met his match in Putin......"So you want close
relations with the motherland......well.....you can either join us &
lose your job/power or pay market rates for Russian sourced
essentials...."

At the very least hand over the pipelines or...or...well it is winter isn't
it....brrrr...without gas it will gt a little chilly & the locals might
start doubting their gov.....eh Alexander....my little brother.....


"The Russian Cabinet on Tuesday raised customs duties on oil exported
to Belarus starting next year, a move that would sharply increase the price
Belarus pays for Russian crude deliveries.

The directive issued by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov which was posted on
the Cabinet Web site envisages that crude oil exported to Belarus would be
charged an export duty of $180 per metric ton beginning Jan. 1
- the same level which is charged on crude exports to other nations. It
wasn't immediately clear how export prices will change, but the move is
certain to increase them significantly.

The move signaled a growing rift between the two ex-Soviet neighbors which
have signed a union agreement envisaging close political, economic and
military ties.

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has resisted Russia's
push for Belarus' gas pipeline that also carries Russian gas further on to
Europe, and Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom has responded by saying it
would quadruple the natural gas price for Belarus starting next year.

The Russian Cabinet said in its directive Tuesday that the oil export
duties were increased "to protect Russia's economic interests" in
connection with Belarus failing to observe an inter-government agreement on
sharing exports earnings from oil products exports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has earlier accused Belarus of failing to
share revenues from exporting oil products made of cheap Russian crude.

The oil price hike will raise the pressure on Belarus, which depends
entirely on Russian energy resources. Lukashenko long has become a pariah
in the West for cracking down on dissent and extending his rule through
flawed votes, and Moscow has been Belarus' main sponsor and ally.

Russia and Belarus have pledged to form a single, union state, but talks on
the merger have stalled. Tensions between the two Slavic neighbors have
been building up in recent years, as Lukashenko rejected a Kremlin-proposed
merger plan. Talks on creating a single currency also have stalled. "


This must stick in the US's throat:

"Commenting on the increase of Russian oil export duty for Belarus,
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday the lacked full
details but noted previous U.S. criticism of Russia's policy.

"We've talked about this, our concerns in this regard with Russia
before: no country should try to use energy as a weapon in this
regard," he said. "We've seen behavior that has raised those
concerns before."   "


Adam

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