Because of the expected decline in the pumping of Russian oil to Europe by half, Belarus has asked Russia to increase the tariff on supplies through the pipeline Druzhba by 39 percent from January 1, 2023. The proposal was announced by Transneft spokesman Igor Demin, TASS reported.

He did not specify what response Russia plans to give to the desire to change the conditions so seriously. However, Moscow has previously had a negative attitude towards Minsk's desire to increase payments.

For example, in 2021 Transneft President Nikolai Tokarev did not even rule out stopping his subsidiary in Belarus. The Russian side took the view that further increase of tax burden might lead to bankruptcy and nationalization of Zapad-Transnefteprodukt.

Earlier Ukrtransnafta had announced an increase in tariffs for supplies through the Ukrainian branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Demin confirmed receipt of the letter but did not disclose the proposed terms. Bloomberg News Agency, which reviewed the letter, says the tariff will increase by 18 percent, to 13.6 euros. Ukraine last increased the tariff for pumping oil to Europe on April 1. Prior to that, it was 8.6 euros per ton for 14 months.

The European embargo on Russian oil supplies takes effect on December 5, but it does not apply to raw materials pumped through the Druzhba pipeline. This compromise was accepted by the EU leadership because of the unwillingness of a number of countries to provide alternative supplies of raw materials.