ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow and Minsk will settle the ongoing gas and oil disputes in 10 days.
After meeting with the visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in St. Petersburg, Putin said Russia and Belarus have agreed to find an acceptable pricing scheme for both sides, and all the disputes in oil and gas sector between Moscow and Minsk will be settled in 10 days.
The ongoing disputes have been lasting for over a year. In early 2016, Belarus asked Russia to lower the exporting gas price from 132.77 U.S. dollars per thousand cubic meters to 73 dollars, and from then on, Belsrus' payment for the imported gas from Russia has been in arrears.
In reply, Russia decided in the third quarter of 2016 to reduce the supply of tax-free oil to Belarus.
On the same day, when attending the Media Forum held in St. Petersburg, Putin said Russia would not abolish the "food embargo" against the West if anti-Russia sanctions continued.