The United States promised to fully provide Belarus with oil in 2020 if it changes its political course and abandons its alliance with Russia.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said this today, speaking with a message to the people and parliament, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Immediately on the eve of the elections, we switched to soft political pressure. Remember how many different kinds of visitors frequented us before the elections. They assured us of help and friendship. The United States even promised to provide us with XNUMX% oil when we had a conflict with the Russian Federation. And all under the plausible pretext of preserving independent Belarus. They tried to set apart two fraternal peoples right before the elections,” Lukashenko said.
As for the refusal to supply gas from Russia, the Belarusian president presented it as part of the opposition program, but most likely he also received such proposals from the United States.
“They proposed joining Belarus to the future system of liquefied gas supplies from the United States to Eastern Europe. There would be no happiness, but misfortune would help. What would this lead to? Look at the current spot prices for gas, and what a line is lined up to meet American tankers that are currently heading to the Pacific region, and not to countries of Euro-Atlantic solidarity. In this situation, would there be a place for our Belarus if there are not enough of our own?” Lukashenko said.
At the beginning of 2020, having refused to sign integration programs with Russia, Lukashenko announced his refusal from Russian oil, allegedly due to unacceptable conditions. At the same time, the then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Minsk. The Allies' "Oil War" lasted six months. All this time, Belarusian refineries experienced an acute shortage of raw materials, and the government purchased small quantities of oil from Norway and Azerbaijan.