BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

23/08/2007

Belarus Clears Its Debts to Gazprom

Reuters

MINSK -- Belarus has fully paid its July bill for Russian gas deliveries, the country's state gas operator said Wednesday, in a move that will further soothe fears over a resumption of pricing disputes with Russia.

A Beltransgaz spokesman confirmed that the July gas bill had been paid in full but did not say how much the country paid.

In July, gas export monopoly Gazprom threatened to reduce supplies to Belarus, which is also an important transit route to Europe, to punish Minsk for not paying $465 million for gas deliveries in the first half of 2007.

Belarus fully redeemed the debt for January to June, which arose from the fact that the country was given a grace period of six months to switch to new prices for gas of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters, up from $46 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2006.

From July onward, Belarus said it would pay for gas deliveries on a monthly basis at the new price.

Belarus is seeking to borrow up to $1.5 billion from Russia to help its economy withstand the higher gas prices.

Source:

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2007/08/23/046.html