BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

07/12/2006

Belarus, Russia still split on gas price

MINSK, Belarus, Dec. 7 Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky downplayed the expected increase in the cost of Russian gas, saying his side also had the right to propose conditions.

Belarus buys gas at a market price taking into account the Belarusian gas transit system, he said. "It is up to Russia to raise the gas price for Belarus to $200 per 1,000 cubic meters. The Belarusian negotiators also have the right to propose conditions which will allow the economies of both countries to operate.The comments, which were reported Thursday on the Web site of the human rights group Charter-97, came in response to questions from lawmakers.

At present, the price of gas that Belarus buys from Russia is fixed by state-owned Beltranshaz and Russia's state-controlled Gazprom.

Sidorsky said Belarus backs Russia's strategy to raise gas prices by 15 percent that would see the price Belarus for gas increase from $46 now to $180 by 2011.

The expected price increase is a key area of difference between the two countries. Russia has raised the price of gas sold to former Soviet states, saying they need to reflect market rates. Most of Western Europe pays $230 per cu.m.

Separately, Sergey Kupriyanov, a Gazprom spokesman on exports to the Commonwealth of Independent States, in an interview with Ekho Moskvy Thursday said that in 2007 Gazprom would sell gas to Belarus at about $200 dollars per 1,000 cu.m.

He acknowledged, however, that Belarus' economy would have a hard time coping with the increase, and said Belarus could pay for the gas by selling Gazprom 50 percent of the stake in Beltranshaz. The two sides are divided over the value of the company, however.

We are not optimistic, Kupriyanov said. No progress has been achieved so far.

Source:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/12276.html