Oct 6. Russian PM Vladimir Putin is to discuss at negotiations with Belarusian...

Oct 6. Russian PM Vladimir Putin is to discuss at negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko Minsk’s request to issue another credit to pay for Russian energy supplies, the Russian government said in a press release. In December 2007, after a bitter dispute caused by the Russian government’s decision to raise the price for oil and gas supplied to Belarusian consumers, Russia and Belarus agreed that energy tariffs would be increased gradually. Russia floated a 15-year USD 1.5 bn inter-governmental loan to Belarus with a 5-year grace period at LIBOR + 0.75%. However, Minsk soon again asked for more money. This spring ahead of May’s meeting between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko during the summit meeting of CIS... [read full story]