Lukashenko called Putin twice in a day. And then he ordered to find an alternative to Russian oil

Updated . Alexander Lukashenko agreed with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the supply of hydrocarbons from January 1 without contracts.

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed to complete negotiations with Russia on oil in the coming hours and start supplies from alternative sources. The BelTA news agency writes about this with reference to the press service of the Belarusian president.

We are talking about deliveries by rail from ports in the Baltic, as well as alternative deliveries of the Druzhba oil pipeline.

Lukashenka gave instructions on alternative oil supplies during a meeting with the leadership of the Belarusian petrochemical complex. It was organized after two telephone conversations between Putin and Lukashenko, which took place on December 30 and 31 and were devoted to the supply of oil and gas.

Reuters, citing sources , wrote that Belarus and Russia could not agree on the terms for 2020, due to which oil supplies could stop on January 1.

• Earlier, Russia and Belarus repeatedly dragged out negotiations on the supply of hydrocarbons until the New Year. In the 2000s, this caused interruptions in the pumping of Russian oil not only to Belarus, but also to Europe.
• On December 24, Lukashenka stated that in the absence of agreements with Russia on oil supplies, Belarus could “take away” two of the three pipes of the Druzhba oil pipeline and pump oil through them in reverse from Poland.