BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

22/09/2007

Lukashenko accuses Gazprom of overcharging Belarus

RECHITSA, Gomel Region. Sept 22 (Interfax) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday accused the Russian leadership and Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) of charging Belarus an exorbitant gas price and rapped them for planning to raise it further.

"Gazprom earns decent dough, as they say, here and makes profit at our expense," Lukashenko told reporters.

"Next year they want to raise the price for us by another 15 to 20 percent," he said. "I don't know what we have done wrong to get this punishment from the Russian leadership."

"Some monopolists have been blinded by this green light, and all they can see is money," the president said.

"Gazprom is making the same incomes and profits by selling gas to Belarus as in Germany. In other words, they are selling gas to us the same way as to Germany," he said.

But "we won't go under," he added.

He was asked whether he expected a replay in 2007 of last year's scenario in which Belarus and Gazprom signed a gas export agreement for 2007 minutes before midnight on December 31.

"Anything is possible, all will depend on how negotiations go. But we will try to sign the contract before the Kremlin clock chimes," he answered.

The Belarusian government "will link the issue of gas price to the issue of transit of hydrocarbons through Belarus," he said.

He also argued that Russia's energy policy meant that proposals to set up a common energy market in the Commonwealth of Independent States were senseless.

"We do stand for a common energy market based on civilized principles, but if states possessing advantages [rich in energy] want to see other states as being of secondary importance, such a market would be useless," he said.

"We wouldn't be able to solve that problem even within the framework of our union with Russia," Lukashenko said. "It's big politics, the existence of dependence," he said.

"I have suggested to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that Belarus produce 10 to 15 billion cubic meters of gas in Russia, but we haven't been able to come to an agreement on that either," Lukashenko said. as

Source:

http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11862726