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CIS Economic Court rejects Minsk's request for temporary ban on Russia's oil export duty

The Board of the CIS Economic Court on September 7 turned down Minsk's request for a temporary ban on Russia's export duty on crude oil supplied to Belarus, BelaPAN reports.

The Belarusian government had asked the Court to impose the ban pending the consideration of its suit seeking the complete abolition of the duty.

At Tuesday's hearing in Minsk representatives of the Russian government offered to settle the suit out of court.

The Belarusian government's representatives said that Minsk was ready for an out-of-court settlement provided that the temporary ban on the duty was imposed.

"This is because our economic entities lost more than $7 million in the first half of this year and these are only direct losses. Apart from this, dozens of Russian enterprises and the peoples of the two countries in general have incurred losses," Justice Minister Viktar Halavanaw told reporters.

However, the Court's Board rejected the request and said that it would hold the next hearing on the case on October 7. It suggested that the parties should try to settle out of court before that date.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Vasily Likhachev, Russia's first deputy justice minister, said that the Court "acted extremely objectively, hearing both parties." "It made a decision that is aimed at making a decision in a month's time or some other period that would be based on law and justice with due regard for the economic interests of both Russia and Belarus," he said.

"The Russian side is doing everything to find appropriate solutions, tie them to the creation of our free economic zones, common economic area," Mr. Likhachev said.

"It's important that we begin the process as partners, friends, not enemies who would take the different sides of the barricades. There are and can be no barricades between us."