OREANDA-NEWS. Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Igor Lyashenko on Thursday in Moscow will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Dmitry Kozak on oil issues. This was reported in the press service of the Belarusian government.

"The Vice Prime Minister of Belarus will discuss with the Russian counterpart issues of cooperation in the fuel and energy sector, including oil supply and oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline," the press service of the Council of Ministers of Belarus said. On May 2, pure oil arrived at the Belarusian border. On May 11, the Mozyr Oil Refinery in Belarus began processing it. Two more branches of "Friendship" remained polluted.

The negotiations scheduled for today were announced on May 21 by Deputy Prime Minister Kozak. According to him, one of the main questions will be the question of cleaning up the Druzhba pipeline from substandard Russian oil. “As for the final release of the pipe from the Belarusian side, the roadmap has been fully agreed and it has already started to be sold in the city of Polotsk. The capacities of the corresponding Belarusian side are being prepared in order to release substandard oil from the pipe with Poland. negotiations, there is a need to clarify some details, "said Kozak.

Subsequently, Russian law enforcement officers uncovered a pattern of oil pollution in Druzhba. Persons involved in the theft of oil and pollution of the pipeline were six people. Four of them are arrested. The investigation believes that they organized a criminal community and stole oil worth at least 1 million rubles. To hide the theft, they added chlorine-containing compounds to the oil discharge unit.

These negotiations in the government of the Russian Federation will be held on the eve of the meeting scheduled for May 24 in Moscow by the Prime Ministers of the two countries, Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Rumas.