Today in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko about improving economic and other cooperation amid disagreements between the two countries in the field of energy.
Lukashenko has recently accused the Kremlin of failing to meet its energy supply obligations, while some in Belarus fear that Putin may consider merging the two nations to expand his power.
The Kremlin, for its part, stated that Belarus, which relies on Russian energy supplies, should accept greater economic cooperation if it wants to receive Russian energy at subsidized prices.
For now, the outcome of the talks is unknown, and local media reported that Putin and Lukashenko were playing ice hockey.
Putin and Lukashenko met twice in December but failed to resolve their differences, so Russia cut oil supplies to Belarus earlier this year.
Transit shipments of Russian crude oil to Europe via Belarus continue unhindered, but Belarusian oil refineries have been reduced to minimum capacity, depriving the country of a major source of revenue. Belarus used to export petroleum products produced from cheap Russian oil.
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