Word: belarus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Russian President Vladimir Putin threw a major fit on state television Monday night. In a vituperative appearance, he accused the neighboring nation of Belarus of ungratefulness and intransigence in the ugly quarrel over energy prices and pipelines. He said that Russia had virtually subsidized the neo-Stalinist regime of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko over the past five years. Now the Belarussians' illegal tapping of tens of thousands of tons of oil had forced Moscow to shut down the pipeline that runs through Belarus - inconveniencing not just Russian oil companies but their energy-hungry customers farther to the west, including Germany...
...Over New Year's, Russia forced Belarus to pay a whopping increase in gas prices; Belarus retaliated by stealing oil from the pipeline. But Putin's bile may have origins other than the current quarrel over the price of energy. In the 1990s, Lukashenko, although the president of another country, was immensely popular in Russia because he loudly advocated the reintegration of Belarus with Russia - so much so that some analysts believed he was maneuvering for the top position at the Kremlin itself. At that time, Lukashenko cut a much more attractive figure than then Russian President Boris Yeltsin...
...Many officials apparently took that as a directive to tap into the Russian oil that is being pumped to Poland and Germany through Belarus. Transneft, Russia's state-owned transporting company, said today that Belarus started siphoning off Russia's oil on Jan. 6 - diverting 79,000 tons in two days. Early Monday, Polish officials said that Belarus blocked the Russian Druzhba ("Friendship") oil pipeline that carries oil to Poland and Germany. Russia then closed the pipeline to prevent more Belarussian theft. "Now there is a threat to the fulfillment of international contracts between Russian companies and companies in Western...
...fifth of its oil imports. Poland receives 50% of its oil from Russia and most of it comes through the pipeline. Warsaw, however, says it has enough oil for 80 days and, if needed, can receive shipments through Baltic ports. Polish newspapers have started calling the controversy "The Russia-Belarus...
...Indeed, the rhetoric in Moscow has become bellicose when the subject comes to Belarus. The state-run TV channel has started calling the Lukashenko regime "impulsive and fraudulent," with political commentary depicting Belarus as a virtual enemy state, rather than an erstwhile ally. The fear in Belarus is that Russia is using energy supplies as a cudgel to take over Belarus' economy in order to forcibly reintegrate Belarus into the Russian federation. Indeed, Lukashenko played on those fears at the Orthodox Christmas rites last night at the Minsk Cathedral, delivering a pledge to preserve Belarus' sovereignty. But now with Europe...