BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

29/12/2006

Belarus Sends Delegation To Moscow For Gas Talks

December 29, 2006 -- Belarus is sending a delegation to Moscow today in a last-minute attempt to defuse a gas crisis with Russia.

Andrey Zhukau, an aide to Belarus' energy minister, says Minsk has good hopes of reaching a deal with Russia's state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom.

The gas giant is threatening to cut gas supplies to Belarus on January 1 if Minsk doesn't meet the new rate of $105 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas -- more than twice what Belarus currently pays.

Belarus has said it will siphon off Russian gas bound to Europe in the event of a gas shutoff.

(Reuters, AFP, ITAR-TASS)

Source:

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/12/80EE6C9C-A655-4F18-8185-72D24C3F2E26.html