“Why are you turning the tap all the time?”

Russia and Belarus continue to quarrel over the economy

Russian-Belarusian relations seem to be far from a full-scale crisis. But they are difficult to the point of impossibility. The allies seem to speak different languages. Russia proposes to separate the problems of bilateral relations and building a union state. Belarusians, on the contrary, prefer okroshka. With this, the meeting of the next Council of Ministers of the Union State began yesterday at the President Hotel.

Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said right from the start that the agenda includes unimportant issues, and there is no place for urgent ones. That is why, they say, some of them had to be discussed at a bilateral meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, which took place in the morning.

Instead of the allotted hour, the premiers and members of the delegations consulted for two and a half. Guests from Minsk were, as usual, interested in the price of gas. The Russians, accordingly, were most interested in when their partners would stop wanting only benefits and preferences from Moscow. According to Mr. Sidorsky, the prime ministers heard a report from the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, which did not satisfy the neighbors from Minsk. They were not satisfied with the starting conditions. And the Belarusian prime minister made it clear that there could be any options for the gas contract, but there is a union agreement from 2002, according to which Belarusians must receive gas at the price of the fifth belt of Russia, that is, the Smolensk region. And period.

However, the well-known position of the Belarusian prime minister did not confuse the Russian one at all. Mikhail Fradkov, in turn, recalled that “God’s gift” - a package union agreement can only be a package agreement. This means that we are talking, at a minimum, about creating a joint gas transportation enterprise. And not someday, but tomorrow. According to the Russian Prime Minister, Russia literally froze in impatience, awaiting the assessment of the cost of the gas transportation system of Belarus, carried out by the ABN AMRO bank. The work should be completed soon. After which it will become clear how ready the Belarusian government is to implement the 2002 agreement. “We are not in favor of delaying the process,” said Mr. Fradkov, “and not only because we have the valve in our hands.”

“Why are you turning the tap all the time?” - the journalist who arrived for negotiations with Mr. Sidorsky asked passionately. “Am I the only one who has to answer this question?!” - Mr. Fradkov was surprised. “We hope that the contract will be signed in November. There is not much time left to reach an agreement. We are not the ones holding out. This is the market. And the formula is well known to everyone,” he emphasized. “We remain in the same position,” Mr. Sidorsky persisted. “To reach an agreement, we must not create artificial barriers. And there should be fewer complaints,” the Russian prime minister insisted. -- Integration ties today are far from a single market. There were plans that, unfortunately, were not fulfilled: both for the single ruble and for the emission center.”

In the end, the negative emotions of the prime ministers spilled out almost openly. Mr. Sidorsky said that “they hang all the dogs” on Belarus. Secretary of the Union State Pavel Borodin reports to President Putin (during a meeting last week - Ed .) almost "lying" that his neighbor will not ratify a single joint agreement. “On the contrary, we have ratified everything,” said Mr. Sidorsky. “And Russia is dragging its feet on approving an agreement on equal rights for citizens of the two countries.” “It’s not the other way around,” Mr. Fradkov finally became angry. “The property agreement has not been ratified by Belarus.” The Russian Prime Minister, judging by his facial expressions, really wanted to add something, but apparently he remembered that he still had a long lunch ahead of him with his partner. And Mikhail Fradkov chose not to spoil his appetite...

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Belarus will purchase 21 billion cubic meters in 2006. m of Russian gas at the lowest price among importers of $46.68 per thousand cubic meters. Back in the spring, the head of Gazprom, Alexey Miller, warned Minsk that next year the contract would be concluded on the basis of a price at the European level. The base rate was first proposed at 140 and then 200 dollars per thousand cubic meters. Belarusian colleagues continue to demand indexation at the level of revision of regulated gas prices for Russian consumers. The parties have been trying to create a joint venture on the basis of Beltransgaz for four years. At the very beginning of the journey, Mr. Lukashenko valued 50% of the enterprise at $2.5 billion, and Gazprom was ready to pay $300 million, which corresponds to the book value. Once ABN AMRO completes the assessment, the parties will face complex and lengthy commercial negotiations.

Vera KUZNETSOVA