BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

09/08/2007

Gazprom turns on the tap to Belarus

Malaysia Sun

A row, in which Russia's Gazprom threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, has been defused after Minsk completed payment of its US$456 million debt to the company.

The last transfer of payment owed by the Belarussian gas pipeline operator was paid late on Wednesday.

The row between Russia and its smaller ex-Soviet neighbour raised alarm bells in the European Union last week as Gazprom threatened to reduce supplies to Belarus by almost half if Minsk did not pay off its debt by August 3rd.

West European consumers receive about 20 percent of their Russian gas via Belarus.

Fears eased when Belarus made its first payment on Friday and Gazprom announced a reprieve, giving Minsk another week to complete its payments.

Source:

http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/id/271945/cs/1/