Russian economist Andrey Bunich called Russia's policy towards Belarus criminal

July 1, Moscow / Eduard Pivovar - BELTA/. 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, and Russian leaders are harming Russia itself, among other things," he said today at a press conference in Moscow, BELTA correspondent reports. 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 more than $200 million, and at the same time to create a universal scandal," the expert said. "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 such 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 called 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," the expert stated. "The loss of Belarus will be disproportionately expensive for Russia," Andrey Bunich emphasized. -0-