BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

30/07/2007

DJ Russia Approves Credit To Belarus To Pay For Gas - Vedomosti

MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--The Russian government has agreed to give Belarus credit to pay OAO Gazprom (GSBEX.RS) for past deliveries of gas, the newspaper Vedomosti reports Monday, citing Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.

Belarus asked Russia in February for a $1.5 billion credit, after failing to meet the deadline to pay about $500 million for deliveries of gas. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Belarussian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky are to discuss the final credit amount later Monday.

Belarus said it couldn't afford to pay for gas deliveries after the price rose from $46.70 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas to $100.

The State Duma will have a final say on the credit, but won't discuss it until late October or early November when it considers amendments to the 2007 budget, the newspaper reports.

Source:

http://www.cecu.de/633+M5a4c3c428ad.html