Belarus is continuing to negotiate with Russia about resuming crude supplies to the country. In an attempt to persuade Russia into agreeing to a new supply deal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko played up the fact that Belarus could look to import US crude in place of Russian volumes. During a visit to Belarus's capital of Minsk on Feb. 1, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his country is prepared to supply Belarus with crude in place of Russian volumes, "The US wants to help Belarus build its own sovereign country. Our energy producers stand ready to deliver 100% of the oil you need at competitive prices. All you have to do is call us." In addition to the US President Lukashenko said a number of other countries including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Ukraine have all engaged the country in talks over crude supply. A delegation from Belarusian state-owned energy firm Belneftekhim visited Kazakhstan in the week of Feb. 3 to discuss potential Kazakh crude supplies. Belarus, which was previously 100% reliant on Russian crude to meet its needs, is aiming to lower Russia's share of crude imports to 30-40% of total crude imports to the country.
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