Belarus renews petroleum exports amid three-week supply cutoff from Russia

Belneftekhim chair Andrey Rybakov has announced that Belarus is renewing its exports of petroleum products to Europe. The Belarusian news agency BELTA reported on his statement.

“The suspension has been lifted, though we haven’t yet reached the export volumes listed in our business plan. But exports themselves are not forbidden,” Rybakov said. He added that Belarus will continue to seek alternatives to Russian gas supplies. “I won’t announce anything, but there are contracts that are practically ready,” he told journalists.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would aim for the country to obtain only 30 or 40 percent of its petroleum products from Russia, with the remainder coming from the Baltics, Ukraine, or Kazakhstan. Norway has also provided a small amount of petroleum to Belarus in recent days. In late December, Minsk and Moscow struggled to strike up a new gas transport agreement, leading to a shutoff that began New Year’s Day.