Kommersant: Moscow did not give Lukashenko 100 billion rubles and, it seems, convinced Abkhazia and Yuo.

In his Zavidovo residence near Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday received President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. For three hours of communication, the Russian side managed to dissuade Lukashenko from taking a loan of 100 billion rubles from Moscow, persuading him to pay $ 210 for a thousand cubic meters of Russian gas and, it seems, even recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Kommersant writes on Friday.

Minsk asked a loan for 100 billion rubles last year - in addition to a stabilization loan of $ 2 billion, 1.5 billion of which Minsk had already received. The remaining $ 500 million should be allocated after amendments to the Russian budget. Despite the fact that at the beginning of this year, the Russian Ministry of Finance reacted extremely coolly to Minsk’s request for a large ruble trench, the Belarusian leadership did not lose hope, with enthusiasm, continuing to explain how beneficial for the Russian Federation itself .

When asked about 100 billion rubles for Belarus, asked by journalists on Thursday the Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin, he, as Kommersant notes, had to joke: "What are 100 billion? There are no billions!"

And a senior employee of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation in a private conversation with the newspaper spoke even less ambiguously: "The money that they expect from us should go to the payment of pensions, benefits, in short, to fulfill social obligations. But we are not at all happy that the Belarusian authorities were engaged in populism at our expense. I think we will not give them any money."

Nevertheless, at the end of the meeting, Lukashenko and Medvedev Kudrin made a second statement, saying that the issue of granting Belarus of the loan is still being studied.

“We convinced Mr. Lukashenko that the decision on this should be made taking into account the situation in the world. In addition, it is necessary that Belarusians provide us with a rationale for receiving this money and convinced us that they can pay if we give them to them,” the newspaper interlocutor explained.

Another important issue that was resolved on Thursday in Zavidovo is how much Belarus will pay for Russian gas. In the first quarter of this year, the Belarusian authorities ignored the increase in gas prices from 128 to 210 dollars per thousand cubic meters and paid for deliveries to the previous tariff. As a result, in two winter months, Minsk owed Gazprom about $ 70 million, which began to nervous a Russian monopoly, Kommersant writes.

But, as the Medvedev deputy chairman of Gazprom told the media, the negotiations in Zavidov solved all the problems: Minsk will now buy Russian gas at $ 210 per thousand cubic meters. The parties also agreed that in the near future Gazprom would bring its share to Beltransgaz to the agreed 50% of the shares (in January, Gazprom paid for the next 12% and now it belongs to 37.5%). Thus, the gas question can still be considered closed.

As for the recognition of the Independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which the media has long been considered as an unofficially put forward by the Russian side for the provision of financial support to Belarusians, then, according to the publication, it will probably also be decided in Russian benefits.

On April 2, a session of the Belarusian parliament will begin. According to a source surrounded by Alexander Lukashenko, despite the discontent of the European Union, the issue of recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia will be made on the agenda of the parliamentarians.