On July 1, Moscow / Eduard Pivovar - BELTA /. Renowned Russian economist, President of the Union of Entrepreneurs and Tenants in Russia, Andrey Bunich, calls Russia's policy towards Belarus criminal. "Everything the Russian government is doing against Belarus is a crime; Russian leaders are harming Russia itself, among others," he said at a press conference in Moscow today, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. Andrey Bunich is convinced that there was no economic sense in the recent Belarusian-Russian gas dispute. "To demand $180 million from Belarus, while having a debt of over $200 million, and at the same time to create a universal scandal," said the expert. "Since there is no economic sense, it means that other reasons were hidden behind the conflict. I think this is Russia's desire to abandon integration, but to do so in a way that the blame does not fall on the Russian side, so that the people do not understand anything." Touching upon the issues of the Customs Union creation, Andrey Bunich found Belarus's position on oil duties quite understandable, but he sees in the actions of the Russian side "a desire to imitate and create a profanation of cooperation." "There are many initiatives from Russia in the field of integration, but practice shows that nothing has been done," stated the expert. "The loss of Belarus will be disproportionately expensive for Russia," emphasized Andrey Bunich. -0-

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