BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/12/2006

Belurus threatens to up transit fees in Gazprom spat

Moscow - Belarus has threatened to increase the costs of transporting gas through its territory to Western Europe in the event of Russian energy giant Gazprom raising gas prices, reports said Wednesday.

Belarusian Deputy Premier Vladimir Semashko said Minsk and Gazprom were in a situation of 'mutual dependence,' news agency Itar-Tass reported. Speaking Wednesday in Minsk, Semashko said he was confident that Gazprom would not shut off the gas taps to Belarus.

The deputy premier's comments are the latest development in a showdown between Minsk and the Russian gas monopoly after the latter announced its intention to increase more than four-fold the cost of gas for Belarus, from 46 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres to 200 dollars.

The Russian giant however later said it would revise downwards its price demand for 2007 to 110 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres, conditional on it gaining control of the strategically important trans-Belarus pipeline network.

Semashko on Wednesday stressed that just as Minsk's contract with Gazprom for gas delivery was due to expire at the end of the year, so too were agreements between the two on transit tariffs.

The deputy prime minister also blamed Gazprom for the failure of talks on the matter which had ended without success in Moscow the previous day, and said resolution of the row was now down to the Russian energy giant.

Source:

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1237085.php/Belurus_threatens_to_up_transit_fees_in_Gazprom_spat

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