In a sign that Vladimir Putin’s allies may be getting serious about protests, a loyal media outlet has published phone calls of an opposition leader.
A Russian oil pipeline carrying supplies across Belarus to Poland and Germany stopped pumping overnight in a trade dispute between Moscow and Minsk that could lead to fuel shortages across Europe. Only last week the ex-Soviet states promised to put their argument to one side and keep providing oil to the rest of Europe.
Russia and Belarus promised on Thursday to keep pumping oil to Europe, after Minsk slapped a duty on transit shipments of Russian crude in a trade row that has shaken the ex-Soviet states’ strategic alliance. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday imposed a transit fee of per tonne on crude pumped westwards through the Druzhba pipeline system.
Russian and United States negotiators failed on Saturday in marathon talks to strike a bilateral deal to pave the way for Russia to join the World Trade Organisation, a US trade spokesperson said. A Kremlin spokesperson said talks would keep going but gave no details. ”The Russian-American negotiations are continuing and will continue,” Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing.
United States President George Bush was expected to press President Vladimir Putin at a weekend G8 summit over concerns the Russian leader is reining in the rights of the country’s opposition and media. Pledging to ”continually remind Russia” that good ties with the West depend on sharing common democratic values, Bush was due to arrive in St Petersburg from Germany on Friday.