Meeting with Cabinet Members.Part 3
January 9, 2007
The Kremlin, Moscow
Совещание с членами Правительства
9 января 2007 года
Москва, Кремль
VLADIMIR PUTIN (addressing German Gref): And how did negotiations proceed this year, German Oskarovich?
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE MINISTER GERMAN GREF: Already as of the first quarter of 2006 we started to negotiate on how to return to all previous regulations not only with respect to levying export duties on oil products but a whole range of settlements, including Russian companies access to the Belarusian market as provided for in the 1995 agreement.
Intensive negotiations have been underway since April. We reached no consensus on the project of the draft agreement.
Later on, in September 2006, after all Russian departments had agreed on a document we sent a draft agreement to the Belarusian party for them to sign. After our partners in the Belarusian government refused to sign this document, in November we notified the Belarusian government that we intended to introduce a normal regime which does not include any preferences and introduce export duties on crude oil.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: The same regime that applies to our partners from other countries?
GERMAN GREF: Exactly. This was done on 8 December 2006. In light of the withdrawal, the unilateral withdrawal of the Republic of Belarus from the agreement, the cabinet made the decision to introduce response mechanisms consisting in duties on crude oil, and thereby created absolutely identical conditions for all our partners to which we deliver crude oil.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Are the conditions that apply to the Republic of Belarus worse than those that apply to our other partners?
GERMAN GREF: They are standard. We simply applied absolutely normal conditions concerning the export of Russian oil to Belarus.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: In other words, the Republic of Belarus is affected by exactly the same conditions as any other partners that receive our oil?
GERMAN GREF: That is absolutely right, Vladimir Vladimirovich. The one exception is the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Community where export and import duties do not apply, and this holds only in the event that all the agreements within the Customs Union are being implemented. And the legal base of the Eurasian Economic Community provides that states can introduce such measures if one of the parties violates these bilateral agreements.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Like in this case of a unilateral withdrawal from the agreement
GERMAN GREF: In 95.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: In 1995.
GERMAN GREF: That is absolutely right.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: (addressing Viktor Khristenko): Viktor Borisovich, is there an agreement between Russian and Belarusian partners on pumping our oil to western consumers?
VLADIMIR KHRISTENKO: Yes, certainly, such relations always are based on agreements. These agreements are applicable in the long-term, in twenty years time, and there are also annual agreements that are more precise. In this sense the contractual base underlying all our mutual relations has existed for more than just one year and there are no bases to question it.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: And the Russian party fulfills the obligations it has taken on within these transport agreements?
VIKTOR KHRISTENKO: Always has executed, continues to execute, and intends to continue to do so. We always execute any responsibilities that the Russian party incurs from any treaty or legal contract.
VLADIMIR PUTIN (addressing Aleksei Kudrin): Aleksei Leonidovich, the government cabinet has introduced an export duty on crude oil to Belarus. How much income will this represent for the Russian budget and, similarly, how much did the Russian budget lose from not introducing this duty?
FINANCE MINISTER ALEKSEI KUDRIN: As a result of introducing the export duty on crude oil this year the Russian budget will receive about four billion dollars. As a matter of fact, prior to this we had no opportunity to receive this revenue since we supported the integration processes that Viktor Borisovich mentioned.
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НУ У ВАС И ТЕХНИКА
Tralivali89 1 year ago
НУ У ВАС И ТЕХНИКА
Tralivali89 1 year ago