BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/11/2006

Belarusian leader says Russian gas hike will mean next year is 'catastrophic' for his country

The Associated Press

MINSK, Belarus: Belarus' authoritarian leader warned Wednesday that demands for a fourfold rise in the price of imported Russian gas meant next year could be "catastrophic" for his ex-Soviet republic.

"It will be a very tough year, catastrophically tough," Alexander Lukashenko told a government meeting.

Moscow and Minsk are at loggerheads over gas prices, with Russia seeking to hike prices fourfold to US$200 (?155) per 1,000 cubic meters - a hike that would dramatically pinch Belarus' inefficient Socialist-style command economy.

Moscow, which has raised prices for several former Soviet republics, has indicated it could compromise if Belarus hands over 50 percent of its pipeline transporting Russian gas to Western Europe.

Lukashenko called on the government to look for alternatives to Russian gas and oil and pursue talks with energy-rich Iran, Venezuela and Azerbaijan.

"We want to preserve our country for our children, our sovereignty and independence so that we aren't put up against the wall every day, month and year and shouted at: 'Pay for gas and oil,'" he said.

A decade ago, Russia and Belarus agreed to form a union, but Lukashenko has refused the Kremlin's demands that his country effectively become a Russian province.

Source:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/22/business/EU_FIN_Belarus_Russia_Gas.php

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