Belarus has said it does not expect Russian energy giant Gazprom to cut off its gas on New Year’s Day, despite a row over the cost of supplies, BBC News reported on Wednesday.
“There will be gas on Jan 1,” said Belarus’ Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko after returning from failed talks on the issue on Moscow.
However, reports from Minsk said residents there had stocked up on warm clothing in anticipation of a shutdown.
Gazprom says Belarus must pay more than double the old price for gas from 2007. Belarus currently pays $47 per 1,000 cubic meters for gas it imports from Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas monopoly.
Mr Semashko told journalists that a “preliminary agreement” has been reached on raising the price to $57 but Gazprom had unexpectedly repeated previous demands that prices should go up to $110.
Mr Semashko described this as a provocation, according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass.
Gazprom also wants Belarus to hand over a 50% share of the country’s distribution network, including a valuable transit pipeline which supplies gas to Poland and Germany.
Mr Semashko suggested that Belarus would not allow Gazprom’s supplies to pass through its territory if the company cut off Belarussian supplies.
(BBC News 27/12/2006)