Belarus, Russia complete establishment of unified electricity market

MINSK. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Belarus and Russia have completed the formation of a unified electricity market, State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev told reporters on Thursday.

"Reaching decisions, which will be taken as early as tomorrow [at a meeting of the Union State's Supreme State Council on December 6] and demonstrate the success of integration, indicates the completion of work on establishing a unified energy market of the Union State," Mezentsev was quoted by the BelTA state-run news agency as saying.

"This is a mutually beneficial agreement, which makes it possible to minimize losses in the power grids, balance tariffs, ensure the mutual electricity transfer for the sake of people and for the sake of refilling budgets," Mezentsev said.

"This also resulted from putting the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant into operation, as well as building a system of relations, which is based on the foundation of greater trust, comradeship and really equal consideration of each other's interests," he said.

"There will always be disputes in interstate relations, as a buyer always argues with a seller, or as economic entities argue," Mezentsev added. "But in the pattern of relations, this is what is needed for us to achieve the obvious results. And they certainly exist," Mezentsev said.