Justice Ministry: “Russia denies reconciliation”

• 8.09.2010, 13:28

Official Minsk states there is disagreement with Russian on the issue of duties.

Minsk and Moscow differ in understanding of conditions for out-of-court solution of a problem of collecting export duties for oil products delivered to Belarus, a statement by the Belarusian Justice Ministry published on Wednesday reads, RIA Novosti informs.

On Tuesday another sitting of the Economic Court of the CIS arising from the action filed by Belarusian government against Russian government on collecting export duties took place.

“The key issue at the session was the question of possibility of reconciliation of the sides in an extrajudicial procedure. Once again both Belarus and Russia have demonstrated readiness for a constructive dialogue and mutually beneficial solution of the disputed issue,” the statement notes. “However, the sides differ in understanding the conditions for out-of-court solution of the problem”.

The Belarusian side has noted that Russia violates its international obligations to Minsk and does not make “real moves” towards reconciliation. According to the Justice Ministry, Minsk offered statistics of direct economic losses related to Russia’s collecting “illegal”, as they believe, export duties.

“Within its procedural rights Belarus applied for creation by the court of one condition for reconciliation procedures. It was offered for the Russian side to impose a temporarily ban on collecting export customs duties on oil products delivered to Belarus,” the statement reads. Only in case of imposing such a ban the Belarusian side expressed a readiness to reconcile”.

However the court denied motion of Belarus and gave the sides one more possibility to solve the case without the court. The next session of the court is to take place on October 7 this year.