President Lukashenko asks for broader energy cooperation with Iran
President Lukashenko asks for broader energy cooperation with Iran
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko here Monday, June 29, in Moscow, referring to Minsk-Moscow energy dispute, asked for seeking alternative energy sales markets, including broader cooperation with Iran.

The Belarusian news sources, Lukashenko said, “We should not rely on a single source in energy field.

Stressing the need for safeguarding national interests, the Belarusian president said, “Realizing this reality, a few years ago we got access to the oil and gas resources of Iran, Latin America, and Africa.”

He said, “We are now exploiting crud oil in Iran and refining the oil we buy from Venezuela.”

President Lukashenko met the Lithuanian Prime MinisterAndrus Kubilus proposing implementing shared projects aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

Kubilus, too, in the meeting referring to the Russian-Belarusian gas dispute said that having a sole provider of a strategic good can sometimes become problematic for countries.

Belarus owes 200 million dollars to Russia over its natural gas imports that led to a gas dispute leading to 60%decrease of the Russian gas exports to Minsk.