Lukashenka spoke about replacement for Russian oil


During a visit to Svetlahorsk, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that Belarus would continue to diversify oil purchases, “so as not to kneel at twelve o’clock in the morning every year on December 31,” the press service of the President reports.

According to Lukashenka, Belarus is working out the issue of oil supplies from the EU by the reverse method at one of the branches of the Druzhba pipeline.

“We are now going to ship from Gdansk via pipeline (we will buy from Saudi Arabia, Emirates, United States of America),” he said.

Then it’s not Russia that will supply oil to the West through it, but Belarus will pump oil from Europe.

Lukashenka on February 14, 2020 in Svetlahorsk. Source – president.gov.by

Baltic ports will also be used for deliveries. The United States can help here.

“I’ve suggested to the Baltic States: we can buy oil in the Baltic States, pump it through Lithuania or Latvia (as we agree), process it and provide for the whole Baltic region,” Lukashenka opened up on the scheme of the Navapolatsk Refinery.

The refinery in Mazyr will also be able to operate in the same way: oil will be delivered to it through the Black Sea, and the enterprise will then provide Ukraine and partially the EU countries with its products.

Lukashenka stressed that Belarus will not pay bonuses to Russian oil companies, especially if they supply the product at a world price.

“We are not asking for cheap oil. We will buy it at world prices and refine it. And it is profitable for the companies,” he said.

“If Russia does not supply oil in the right quantities, we will start the oil withdrawal”.

In addition, the head of state spoke about the latest Belarusian-Russian talks:

“In Sochi, we agreed that the Russian government and personally Deputy Head of Administration Dmitry Kozak would supervise the issue and help us to reach an agreement. That is, there was a signal: if Belarus is negotiating with someone, help them to supply this oil from Russia through a pipe”.

I haven’t blackmailed anybody, I said: “If Russia doesn’t supply oil in the required volumes (in January they supplied only 500 thousand tons – 1.5 million tons was undersupplied), we will start the withdrawal from the transit pipe”.

“Seventy million tons of oil is pumped through the country to the West and for Belarus. And they don’t have any problems. We pump this oil in good faith, honestly. Do you remember dirty oil in summer? They haven’t paid for it yet, although our equipment in Mazyr has failed, Novopolotsk has also suffered from the Druzhba oil pipeline. So, if not delivered in February, we’ll withdraw up to 2 million tons,” BelTA quoted Lukashenka as saying.

Belarus produces about 1.7 million tons of oil on its territory. Photo by Viktor Drachev / TASS / Forum

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