BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

04/04/2006

Russia, Belarus On Verge Of Dispute Over Gas Prices

April 4, 2006 -- The deputy head of Russia's Gazprom has confirmed that the giant state-owned company hopes to triple prices that Belarus pays for its natural gas.

Aleksandr Ryazanov said today that Gazprom wants to switch to market prices starting from 2007. The head of the company, Aleksei Miller, made a similar statement last week.

Belarus currently buys Russian gas at a subsidized price of $47 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Ryazanov said that the new price should be "at least" three times higher than it is now.

Belarusian officials have described the proposed price change as blackmail and a ploy by Moscow to acquire control over the Belarusian pipeline operator, Beltranshaz, which carries Russian gas to Western markets.

(ITAR-TASS, Ekho Moskvy)

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/04/860435c7-8a7d-4000-86c5-567e9c7b64e7.html

Google