BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/08/2007

Gazprom Extends Threat Of Gas Cut To Belarus

Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said on the Ekho Moskvy radio station on August 3 that if Belarus fails to pay the remaining part of its gas debt within a week as it has promised, Gazprom will cut its gas supplies by 30 percent, which will be proportionate to the actual payment. "If we give full liberty in this matter, there will be no guarantees that we'll receive the money owed to us," Kupriyanov added. On August 2, Belarus paid $190 million of the $456 million it owes to Gazprom. On August 1, Gazprom threatened to reduce gas supplies to Belarus by 45 percent as of August 3 over the unpaid debt, but postponed the reduction by one week after Minsk made the $190 million payment (see "RFE/RL Newsline," August 3, 2007). Speaking on August 3 on Russia's TV-Tsentr, Kupriyanov denied media speculation that Gazprom's ultimatum to Belarus to pay off its gas debt was caused by Gazprom's intention to buy stakes in other key Belarusian enterprises such as oil refineries. "Beltranshaz [Belarus's pipeline operator] is what we really would like to get. We agreed on how we would buy half of this enterprise, agreed on how this company would operate after we got 50 percent, and we so far don't have any additional new ideas," Kupriyanov noted. JM

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/newsline/2007/08/3-cee/cee-060807.asp

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