Kazakhstan may start fuel supplies to Russia if it receives an official request from the Russian authorities, Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Erlan Akenzhenov said, quoted by "Reuters".
"We have not had any official requests from the Russians," Akenzhenov told reporters on the sidelines of the government (quoted by Kapital.kz).
According to information from "Reuters" Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan to import about 50,000 tons of AI-92 gasoline, in order to alleviate shortages caused by refinery downtime and unplanned repairs.
The fuel shortage in Russia is also linked to a sharp increase in demand for gasoline and diesel fuel, caused by regular Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. On June 18, the Moscow Oil and Gas Refinery was attacked. Queues at gas stations have been seen in Moscow and other regions, and authorities in more than 30 regions have imposed restrictions on fuel sales.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told TASS that market tensions had led to an artificial increase in demand.
"The noise is quite significant, which has artificially increased demand by approximately 20-30%", he said.
Novak, however, claims that supplies are sufficient: "We have enough fuel on the market," he said, adding that a temporary restriction on diesel exports for several months is being discussed.