Moscow Seeks To Recover Money From Minsk For Solvents Schemes

The government of the Russian Federation declares Belarus has a pending debt for the supply of solvents in 2011-2012.

Dmitry Medvedev intends to discuss with Siarhei Rumas the export of petroleum products, said Spokesman for the Russian Prime Minister Oleg Osipov, writes interfax.by.

The topic of solvents, the export of which Belarus actively conducted in 2011-2012, was raised by the Russian side against the background of Minsk’s claims for damages in connection with the supplies of the oil, polluted with organochlorine, to Belarus.

“It is also planned to touch upon the sore issues relating to the supply of oil through the Druzhba pipeline, as well as the debt of Belarus that arose during the implementation of the illegal scheme with deliveries of the so-called solvents,” said the Russian government spokesman Oleg Osipov.

The meeting between Medvedev and Rumas is scheduled for May 24 in Moscow.

“A set of issues related to the integration process, the state of trade and economic relations between our countries will be discussed,” Osipov added.

Back in 2012, the Russian government announced that Belarus was smuggling Russian oil products. Minsk under the guise of solvents and other petroleum products exported more products from the raw materials than it could make. Then Belarus transferred to the Russian budget export duties on oil products in exchange for the supply of duty-free oil. Chemical products (solvents, complex organic solvents, and lubricants) were not included in the list of petroleum products, export duties from the sale of which were to be transferred to the Russian budget. The bulk of the supply of solvents from Belarus went to Latvia and the Netherlands.

The Russian side estimates the loss of its budget at the level of 700 million to 2 billion dollars.

The Belarusian side categorically denied the presence of gray schemes when exporting petroleum products and reminded that it transferred serious money to the Russian budget in the amount of $ 3 billion in 2011.

In September 2012, Belarus completely stopped exporting solvents.