BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/08/2007

Belarus makes partial gas payment to Russia, Europe flow continues

Minsk - Belarus on Monday made a second partial payment on an outstanding bill for natural gas imported from Russia, as fuel flows to Europe continued uninterrupted.

The former Soviet republic transferred 110 million dollars to the Russian natural gas monopolist Gazprom, four days after sending an initial payment of 190 million dollars.

Gazprom had threatened to reduce gas volumes sent to Belarus by as much as 55 per cent, a move capable of sparking gas price hikes and even shortages in Europe, which receives some 25 per cent of its natural gas from Russia via pipelines crossing Belarus.

Petr Prokopovich, head of the Belarusian National Bank, in a televised meeting with Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko said Gazprom would receive payment in full 'by the end of the week.'

The original unpaid bill was 464 million dollars, for Russian gas used from January through to June 2007, leaving 164 million outstanding as of Monday, according to an Interfax report.

Lukashenko on Thursday said Belarus would find money to pay off Gazprom via a credit from Venezuela or from western banks.

Prokopovich during a Bel-1 telecast appeared to indicate Belarus would be paying the bill using its own resources, citing increased gold and foreign currency reserves as the most likely source of the funds.

Belarus' success in finding money to pay off the debt delayed a long-term Gazprom plan to gain control of Belarus' natural gas pipeline network, by trading cancellation of debt for a greater stake in the Belarusian national gas transportation company Beltransgaz, observers said.

c 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/news/article_1339441.php/Belarus_makes_partial_gas_payment_to_Russia_Europe_flow_continues