Kommersant: Russia may increase imports of Belarusian fuel to support Minsk

The Kremlin may increase the import of Belarusian fuel, which has been minimal recently. This is intended to support the oil refining industry of the republic, which is faced with EU sanctions and the loss of the Ukrainian market, writes “Kommersant”.

According to the publication, the import of gasoline and diesel is now being actively discussed in the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance of Russia. Belarus provided 45% of total gasoline imports (just over 1 million tons) to Ukraine and 37% of diesel fuel imports (2.97 million tons), Argus analysts calculated.

The main obstacle to the purchase of Belarusian fuel is the significant subsidies for domestic supplies received by Russian refineries. Belarusian enterprises cannot get them now, and deliveries without such a damper will be unprofitable.

The interlocutors of the newspaper believe that the Russian authorities could provide Belarus with a damper through a trading company registered in Russia. So, now Belneftekhim supplies products to the Russian Federation through the Russian LLC Belneftekhim-ROS, the newspaper notes. According to Kirill Nikitin, head of the Vegas Lex law firm, the Kremlin is more likely to conclude an agreement with Minsk at the presidential or government level, pointing to an earlier agreement to compensate the Belarusian side for losses in connection with the tax maneuver in the Russian oil industry.

Trade turnover between Russia and Belarus in 2021 increased by 35% to $40.05 billion. Russia accounted for 49.0% of the total trade turnover of Belarus, including 41.1% of exports (in 2020 – 45.1%) and 56.6% of imports (in 2020 city ​​- 50.4%). The export of Russian industrial products increased by 42.7% in annual terms, the supply of Belarusian goods also showed growth, adding 24%, reported in March at the Belarusian Ministry of Industry.

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