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Despite the close ties of Russia and Belarus, the two countries clashed over imported Russian gas in early 2007. In Dec. 2006, Russia doubled the price of gas it exported to Belarus, and then imposed a large duty on oil exports. In response, Belarus imposed a tax on Russian gas in Jan. 2007.

Russia then shut off an oil export pipeline to Europe (which spelled trouble for Europe, since half of all European exports of Russian gas are transported through Belarus). By mid-January, Russia agreed to cut its oil duty and Belarus agreed to cut its tax.

In September 2008, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka won all 110 seats in parliamentary elections, but European monitors criticized the flawed counting system in Belarus.