Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says Russia is blocking deliveries of Kazakh oil amid a tariff dispute with Moscow, Minsk's regular supplier, Eurasia Diary reports citing RFERL.
Lukashenka said on January 21 at a meeting with oil experts in Minsk that the situation Belarus's economy is facing "is getting complex."
"It is strange, our ally does not agree to deliver oil to us from our other ally. That is an odd situation in the oil-delivery sector and we must take care of it," Lukashenka said.
All three countries are founding members of the Eurasian Economic Union.
"Because of the Russian Federation's introduction of the tax tariff maneuver [on oil, Belarus's] state budget gains are constantly dropping and the efficiency of our refineries' operations are worsening. There are no full alternatives to Russian oil and we have to diversify the sector," Lukashenka said, adding that the volume of Russian oil in the Belarusian market must be between 30 and 40 percent.