Russia, Belarus fail to agree on financial compensation for Minsk: Kremlin

Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko failed to agree on possible financial compensation for Minsk and will meet again before the end of the year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. The two leaders met in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss a range of issues, but did not reach an agreement on Belarusian demands for financial compensation from Moscow for a change in Russian oil taxes, Peskov said. The Russian government in June approved changes in oil taxes that will see oil export duties being gradually cut over the next six years. (Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)