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Russia to supply 11.5 million tons of oil to Belarus in first half of 2014

Russia will supply 11.5 million tons of crude oil to Belarus in the first half of next year, Arkady Dvorkovich, Russia’s deputy prime minister, said at Saturday’s talks with Uladzimir Syamashka, Belarus’ first deputy prime minister, in Moscow.

The officials said that Belarus and Russia were ready to sign agreements specifying next year’s volumes of Russian exports of coal, electricity and natural gas to Belarus, said the Russian government’s press office.

Messrs. Dvorkovich and Syamashka also discussed timeframes for Russian companies’ planned link-ups with Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant, chemical company Hrodna Azot and electronics companies Intehral and Pelenh, as well as the progress of talks on a link-up between Minsk Automobile Plant and Russian truck maker KamAZ, according to the press office.

Belarus originally wanted to sign agreements on oil deliveries for the entire 2014 calendar year, but Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said on December 17 that Russia and Belarus were discussing the supply of oil only for the first half of the year.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said last week that whether or not Moscow and Minsk would formally agree on how much Russian crude oil would be supplied to Belarus in 2014 would depend on the "entire range" of bilateral relations. //BelaPAN