Belarus and Russia: Biting the hand that feeds you

The talks of the representatives of Russia and Belarus regarding the issue of oil supplies have not yielded any specific results yet. Belarus does not want to make payments within the framework of the Russian tax maneuver, nor is it ready for bonus payments to Russian oil companies, which in essence are not bonus payments, but rather a minimal profit for Russian corporations. Later, however, the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that the President of Russia offered to preserve 2019 financial conditions for oil supplies. Of course, Alexander Lukashenko does not want to achieve any political agreements within the framework of closer integration with Russia in accordance with the Unified State Treaty. Experts note that Belarus is "on the balance sheet" of Russia: its economy is unprofitable, and the country's debt amounted to $2.1 billion and reached $38.676 billion in 2019.