Chronicles of a dive of a pagine Council of Ministers

Russia and Belarus check each other for strength yesterday in Moscow, the Government of the Union State of Russia and Belarus met. The Council of Ministers did not make any specific decisions. As a matter of fact, no one expected a trade and economic breakthrough from this meeting. And in the Russian delegation it was not hidden that Mikhail Fradkov had a stressful schedule, and he participates in the Security Council only because they demand an agreement of the Union State. The regulation obliges the premieres of the two countries to meet once a quarter in turn in Moscow and in Minsk.

However, the premieres had something to talk about. The closer the end of the year, the more acute the question arises of a new agreement on the supply of Russian gas to Belarus.

Remembering last year’s scandal with Ukraine, when on several frosty January days, Russia blocked Kyiv a gas valve, the Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky hinted that for the sake of cheap fuel, his country was ready to make Gazprom. The position of the Russian monopolist is that there are no preferential prices in market relations. Therefore, if Minsk does not want to pay $ 130 for a thousand cubic meters, Gazprom will have to be launched into its gas transportation system. For this, it is supposed to create a joint venture. But the catch is that Belarus estimated its piece in this joint venture is too expensive - at $ 5 billion. Alexei Miller did not suit this, and the solution of the issue has been inhibited for 3 years. Yesterday, Fradkov and Sidorsky announced that the Dutch bank ABN Amro would conduct a new assessment of the gas transmission system until November. In principle, this allows two countries to hope for a "peaceful" settlement of the gas question. Two more months will remain until the New Year - it is enough to sign the documents necessary to create the joint venture and announce the transition to long -term prices for Russian gas for Belarus. Naturally, below the market. Everything seems to be good. However, Mikhail Fradkov yesterday made a number of subtle reservations, thereby giving it to understand that he does not have absolute confidence in Minsk. "We will not have much time left to agree, I would not want this topic (gas prices. -" newspaper ") to become the subject of discussion in the media," Fradkov said. And earlier, in a personal conversation with Sidorsky, which lasted more than two hours, the Russian prime minister expressed dissatisfaction with weak control over the implementation of the decisions adopted by the Council of People's Commissars.

The answer of the Belarusian prime minister did not have to wait long. Having recognized the defeat in the gas war, he began to blame Russia for unreasonable delaying decision -making on other most important issues. For example, Sidorsky expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Russian officials did nothing to ratify a package of four agreements to ensure equal rights of citizens of the two countries in social areas. He does not like artificial obstacles that interfere with trade. In particular, he promised to check all the intermediaries of Russian companies that ship goods to Belarus within a month. Sidorsky was alerted by "extra links" in the chain "manufacturer - consumer". And they prompted him to negotiations with the “power machines”: “I was offered an agreement by which some intermediary receives $ 2 million. Why are these 2 million to give to an intermediary? They will come in handy for“ power machines ”and the Belarusian partners.” The Russian side had its own answer. Sidorsky even had to prove to journalists that there were no discriminatory measures against Russian goods in Belarus.

Nevertheless, Mikhail Fradkov accepted the claims of Minsk and promised to correct the shortcomings. Agreements on equal rights of citizens of the two countries, according to the Russian prime minister, will be submitted to the State Duma in the near future. There should not be extra intermediaries either - "we must do without bends."

However, when Fradkov spoke about the trade problems of Russia and Belarus, it was clear that he had a powerful counterargument in stock. And he accepts the desire of Belarus to dictate his conditions only for the future, so as not to heat up the situation and not to disrupt the rally of the most important card - a joint gas enterprise. It is no coincidence that yesterday he recalled that the price of gas and trade and economic relations is a “whole complex of questions”. And Fradkov would not want to lay out the main trump card on the negotiating table, whose name is the "gas valve".

09/26/2006 / Andrey Lavrov, the material was published in the newspaper No. 175 dated 09/27/2006.