Russian Energy Minister Justifies Cuts in Oil Deliveries to Belarus

The reduction of duty-free oil deliveries to Belarus by 2 million tonnes in Q3 of 2016 is caused by Minsk failure to pay for Russian gas supplies and to respect commitments on return deliveries of refined oil products, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The minister stressed, though, that Russia will deliver at least 18 million tonnes of oil to Belarus in 2016.

"The deliveries in the third quarter will be 2 million metric tons less that stipulated in previous agreements," Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

In the past few years, Russia has been delivering an average of 23 million metric tons of oil to Belarus.