Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “Gas without political strings”
By Kira Latukhina
Putin, Lukashenko discuss Russian gas supplies and extra loan
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Minsk yesterday afternoon.
His working visit was packed: first, he had a conversation with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and then held extended two-way negotiations. In the evening, he chaired a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Russia-Belarus Union State.
The negotiations took several hours, and it was night when the Russian delegation left the [Belarusian President's] residence - more than 20 agenda items were to be decided.
"Every question settled will take us forward," Mr Putin said upon flying into Minsk, urging officials to be constructive.
There were many officials to urge. The delegation he arrived with was not small, and included most members of his Cabinet: First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Federal Customs Service chief Andrei Belyaninov and the deputy heads of most Russian ministries and departments.
The visit came on the heels of parliamentary elections held in Belarus on September 28. Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) found no irregularities in the elections. Analysts expected Belarus to recognise South Ossetia's and Abkhazia's independence soon after the elections, but that did not happen.
However, a source in the Russian delegation told Rossiyskaya Gazeta that they had not planned to raise the issue during Mr Putin's current visit. According to the source, Moscow would neither insist on, nor ask for, this step - the decision is for the Belarusian leadership to take, as it is for the leadership of any other country. Nor, according to the source, was it planned to discuss South Ossetia and Abkhazia joining the Russia-Belarus Union.
Mr Lukashenko met with Mr Putin outdoors. And Mr Putin was the first to enter the Green Hall of the presidential administration. On the other hand, Lukashenko was the first to open the conversation. "Before the meeting it occurred to me that everything goes too smoothly within the Union, as it should - quietly, boringly and unspectacularly," he said. "Yet it seems the Belarusians and Russians expect something definite from us."
Mr Lukashenko suddenly recalled the conversation he had with President Dmitry Medvedev in Sochi when the Russian leader proposed that Belarus launch some large-scale programmes people can see. At the time, it was decided to postpone such plans until the meeting between the Belarusian President and the Russian Prime Minister. "This will motivate the progress of allied relations," Lukashenko told Putin. "What's more, some programmes are worth formulating before the year's end."
Mr Putin nodded understandingly. Later, at the Council of Ministers meeting, he said he fully supported the Belarusian President's opinion "to focus on major projects of a breakthrough nature."
The second question that was uppermost on Lukashenko's mind was speculation in the press about Belarus' attempts to exert pressure on Russia by making advances to the West. "We never bargain over our principles, and we do not bargain over our friendship with Russia," Lukashenko unexpectedly got angry and gave Mr Putin a long look. "Rest assured of that," he told Mr Putin.
In reply, Mr Putin said that the day before he had discussed with President Medvedev the subject of negotiations with Mr Lukashenko. "All our citizens want one thing, that competent and consistent economic efforts boost their well-being," he explained. He believes the right thing is to "find and concentrate financial and administrative resources on the most promising sectors," above all in high technologies. Finished with high technologies, Mr Putin then went on to political technologies. He praised Mr Lukashenko for his successful handling of the parliamentary elections, which were held "at a high organisational and political level." "This indicates that your policy enjoys popular support," the Russian Prime Minister told a pleased Lukashenko.
Mr Putin pointed to an unusually high growth of trade this year - 60% is a record indicator for Russia compared with other partners, he said. "And that is natural, considering our allied relations," answered the President. "We know that we do not achieve all the objectives we have set, but that is not what we should fear, in my view. The main thing is that we realise such goals, can formulate them and, on the whole, move towards their fulfilment."
However, at the two-way negotiations, this time without Mr Lukashenko, the range of topics discussed was wider and included more than 20 items, including foreign policy issues: the global financial crisis, deployment of anti-missiles in Europe, and Russia's moves away from the WTO. Mr Putin called for a timely response to the currency crisis in the United States and Western Europe. But, he said, it requires currency integration. "There is an interest in further currency integration through establishment of a currency pool and the greater use of the Russian rouble in mutual settlements," Mr Putin said. He wondered why Russia and Belarus made their settlements in US dollars in major energy projects. "We know the problems that dog the American economy and the American currency system. And it would be worthwhile if we gave some thought to this. It is very important for the Russian currency," Mr Putin said.
Apart from using the Russian rouble for settlement between the two countries, Mr Putin also spoke of a common currency, but with a reservation that it concerned "a future perspective." As a token of support, his Belarusian counterpart Sergei Sidorsky immediately recalculated the [Russia-Belarus] trade into roubles (this year it reached 581 billion). Usually, it is quoted in US dollars.
Still, during the course of the visit the economy prevailed over politics. The Council of Ministers' agenda contained more than 20 items - dealing with the economy, integration, and defence. A budget of the Union State was discussed, for example, which may be increased by 20% next year through converting something like 40 joint projects to nanotechnological levels. The sides also discussed the joint management of Union property. Mr Sidorsky said that the Belarusian Government had completed preparations for the ratification of an agreement on property of the Russia-Belarus Union State. He promised Mr Putin that the [Belarusian] Parliament would ratify it in October.
But, as always, the stumbling block was prices for Russian gas to be supplied to Belarus and a $2 billion loan requested by Minsk. Ahead of the visit, Belarusian government officials spent a whole weekend discussing conditions for a loan with Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin. In December, Russia had already given Belarus a $1.5 billion loan on easy terms. In view of the previous cash injections, Belarus now owes Moscow $1.7 billion. But Minsk wants a new loan before it repays the old one. And, as is said in the Russian delegation, in deciding to give or not to give a loan to Belarus, Moscow will not be guided by Minsk's recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Kira Latukhina
Minsk
Apropos
The visit also provided an occasion to discuss in detail prices for Russian gas to be supplied to Belarus. In December 2006, Gazprom and Beltransgaz agreed on a phased conversion to market prices. Moscow insists that in 2008, prices make up 67% of their market value; in 2009, 80%; and in 2010, 90%. "This is a soft transition taking many factors into account," said an official at the White House in Moscow. "But Minsk proposes that the process be extended." In 2009, for example, it wants to pay 19% of the market price; in 2010, 27%; and in 2011, 40%.
So far, deliveries are being made on Russian terms: since January 1, 2008, Belarus has been paying $127.9 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, and next year it is planned to bring the price up to $190. Belarus, however, wants to pay $140 per 1,000 cubic metres. "The discussion continues, but we stick to our formula," said a government source.
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