A.Lukashenko and V.Putin talk over phone

A telephone conversation between President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko and President of Russia Vladimir Putin took place on February 21 at the initiative of the Russian side. The current topical issues of bilateral relations and energy supplies were discussed. During the conversation, Vladimir Putin announced new proposals for resolving the situation in the oil sector. In particular, he stated readiness of the Russian side to compensate for the Belarusian loss from lowering customs duties on Russian oil as part of the tax maneuver in Russia, at the cost of profitability (or premium) of Russian oil companies.