MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) – Belarus-Russia roadmaps on oil and gas have not been agreed upon yet, but solutions can be found, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Rumas told reporters on 13 November, BelTA has learned.
“There are some pending issues in several roadmaps, including roadmaps on oil, gas and power engineering. However, we are capable of resolving them,” Sergei Rumas said.
The head of government recalled that a total of 31 roadmaps are in the works. In his words, about half of them have been agreed upon in essence and can be signed as part of a package.
The unresolved issues will be discussed on 19 November after the session of the Union State Council of Ministers. “We have agreed with the Russian premier to walk through all the roadmaps and to try to remove as many issues as possible. We cannot submit these roadmaps to the presidents if these roadmaps are fraught with disagreements,” Sergei Rumas said. “However, these obstacles are not unsurmountable. We used to have them before. I believe we will be able to find a solution,” he added.
When asked what will happen if the two countries fail to come to terms on oil and gas, the head of government said: “In this case the presidents will give bad marks to our work and will certainly find a way out.”
A reminder, the prime ministers of Belarus and Russia approved the draft action program to implement the Union State Treaty and a series of roadmaps in early September. Now the parties need to draft 31 roadmaps to implement the action program. The roadmaps are to be submitted for scrutiny to the presidents by 1 December. The roadmaps will be signed by heads of government agencies; the action program to implement the Union State Treaty will be signed at the level of the heads of state.
