Kremlin: Minsk is free to look for oil supply options more profitable than Russia’s offer

Dmitry Peskov

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/: Belarus is free to use any options for oil supplies if they are more profitable than Russia’s offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

He was commenting on the words of the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko who said that Minsk had to look for alternative sources of oil supplies, due to tax maneuver in the oil sector in Russia.

Peskov stressed that the Kremlin does not consider such statements to be unfriendly.

"Why unfriendly? Belarus is free to use any options if they are more profitable than what is proposed by the Russian Federation," he said.

"In this case, we don’t want to be like one well-known country that imposes its products on customers, which are much more expensive than what’s on the market," he added.

The official added that Moscow "takes seriously any statement by the head of Belarus."

"We carefully familiarize ourselves with all the statements. In this situation, it is a matter of economic and commercial feasibility, and work is ongoing. I have nothing more to say on that," Peskov said.