European countries faced continued disruption to their oil supplies yesterday after talks failed to end an oil transit row between Russia and Belarus that threatens relations between Moscow and the EU.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Western consumers must be spared the effects of disrupted supplies after German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the crisis was destroying confidence in Moscow.
Russia confirmed that it had cut oil shipments through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline to western Europe, but Putin urged government ministers to "do everything to secure the interests of Western consumers."
PHOTO: AFP
He added, however, that Russia might nonetheless have to reduce oil output owing to the crisis.
Despite the gravity of the situation, talks between Russia and Belarus ended in Moscow on Tuesday with no agreement in a dispute that was quickly spreading well beyond the two countries' borders.
Russian news agencies quoted Economic Development Minister German Gref as saying that "we are ready to begin talks on all questions as soon as illegal and unprecedented measures such as the transit tax and shutting down of petrol shipments have been lifted."
"This is our demand and we will not negotiate as long as these conditions have not been fulfilled," Gref said after a long meeting with Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov, adding that Russia would seek alternative delivery routes if Belarus refused.
"That means that part of the oil would not be shipped out of Russia, and we will have to work on slashing the volume of oil production," which would be "a very negative scenario for both Russia and Belarus," Gref warned.
The row blew up on Monday when Russia cut oil supplies via Belarus in response to what Moscow said was the former Soviet republic's illegal demand for a transit fee and siphoning of oil. The cut-off impacted oil supplies to EU members Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
In Berlin, Merkel criticized the row between Moscow and Minsk and the fact that European countries had not been kept informed.
"It is not acceptable when there are no consultations about such moves," Merkel said when asked about Russia's reliability as an energy partner.
"You cannot build cooperation based on true mutual trust in this way," said Merkel, whose country has in recent years been considered Russia's closest EU partner.
About 12.5 percent of the oil consumed by the EU transits through the Druzhba pipeline from Russia, which provides half of the 27-nation bloc's oil imports.
The pipeline supplies about 20 percent of Germany's annual oil imports, or 23.4 million tonnes in 2005, according to the German oil industry federation.
Belarus and its giant neighbor Russia each accuse the other for the disruption. Khristenko acknowledged Russia's role in cutting off the oil, but said it had been forced to act after Minsk's "non-Slavic foul play" in blocking oil transit on its end.
"Since the morning of Jan. 8, Russia has not been supplying oil through the pipeline in the direction of Belarus," Khristenko told reporters.
"If the valve is closed to you on the other end of the pipeline, then you have nowhere to ship that oil" without causing a "technical failure" or re-routing the oil in Russia "not knowing where or to whom," he said.
The row was sparked when Belarus imposed a US$45 per tonne tariff from New Year's day on Russian oil transiting through its territory. Minsk's move was in retaliation for a separate Russian tariff as well as a more than doubling of gas prices for Belarus imposed at the New Year.
Khristenko said Russia would seek to compensate for the cuts with increased shipments to Europe by rail and river transport.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese