SOCHI, February 7. /TASS/. Regulatory conditions of the Russian oil sector cannot be changed dramatically but the government will assist oil deliveries to Belarus, deputy head of the Russian presidential administration Dmitry Kozak said on Friday after bilateral talks.
"As far as oil supplies are concerned, which were the subject matter of lengthy discussions in mass media, the Government of the Russian Federation and we will together provide assistance to achievement of agreements with Belarusian consumers and oil producers in our country," Kozak said. "We cannot dramatically change regulatory conditions of our oil sector at present. As you are aware, crude oil prices are formed by the market, rather than regulated administratively," he said.
Provision of oil price discounts to Belarus would require introduction of state regulation, Kozak noted. "We cannot do this; we cannot change rules of the game again and again, placing our oil companies into an unclear situation," he added.