European Forum

Compromise reached in Belarus dairy dispute

On June 18th Belarus resumed supplies of its dairy products to Russia after Moscow agreed to lift its embargo. "This became possible after understandings reached at yesterday's Moscow talks," the Belarusian agricultural ministry said.

Belarus briefly imposed tough customs controls on border crossings with Russia on the 17th, but cancelled them later the same day after Moscow scrapped its ban on Belarusian dairy supplies, which bring the country billion in annual revenue. Moscow claimed Belarus had failed to comply with new regulations despite repeated warnings.

The milk dispute further strained ties between the post Soviet neighbors, who have been trying to establish a "union state." The ban imposed earlier this month sparked a furious reaction in Minsk, with President Lukashenko calling it "economic discrimination" and boycotting a security summit in Moscow in protest.

The Belarusian Agriculture Ministry said it had now handed over to Russian authorities a list of companies and products that had received Russian sanitary approval, and would be cleared for exports to Russia. The list will be extended as more producers have their products tested in Russian labs, the ministry said.

Looming gas dispute?

However, a new dispute may loom over Russian gas monopoly Gazprom's demand that Belarus pay its 1 billion debt for natural gas supplies by June 23. The debt accumulated due to Belarus's payment of the so-called average annual price of 0 per 1,000 cu m of gas, which differed from the contract price of 0 per 1,000 cu m for the first six months of the year. 

Energy prices have been an irritant in Russia-Belarus relations in recent years since Moscow began moving away from heavily subsidized gas prices for Minsk. Belarus is a transit nation, along with Ukraine, for Russian gas exports to Europe.

Source: Rian Novosti; photo: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty