Russian state gas firm OAO Gazprom
(GAZP.RS) will Friday sign a deal to increase its stake in Belarussian gas
pipeline company Beltransgaz to 100%, the Interfax news agency reports Thursday
citing Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller.
A gas supply contract between Russia and Belarus expires by the end of this year,
and a key issue in signing a new deal has been the price Gazprom would pay for
a 50% stake in Beltransgaz. The Russian company bought a 50% stake in 2006 for
$2.5 billion.
Miller didn't say if Russia had agreed to lower the gas price to Belarus.