BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/12/2008

Belarus May Pay Less for Russian Gas From Gazprom

By Katya Andrusz

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Belarus will pay less for its natural gas imports from Russia next year after talks between the two countries' leaders, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on his Web Site.

Lukashenko and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached an agreement when they met in Moscow on Dec. 22 that the price would "fall significantly", according to the Dec. 24 statement.

An agreement with Belarus should be completed "within a couple of days," Alexander Medvedev, chief executive officer of OAO Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas exporter, told reporters in Moscow Dec.24.

Belarus' close ties with Russia "won't have any effect" on the improving relations between Belarus and the West, Lukashenko said. "The Europeans are well aware of our relations with the Russian Federation."

Lukashenko has ruled the country of 10 million, wedged between Poland and Russia, since 1994. He was labeled Europe's "last dictator" by the outgoing administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, while the Organization for Security and Coordination in Europe said presidential and parliamentary elections didn't meet international democratic standards.

The EU is bracing for possible disruptions to gas supplies after Gazprom said yesterday that talks with Ukraine, another former Soviet state, had been "extremely unconstructive." Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe's gas mainly through Ukraine's pipeline system, said it would not sign a new delivery contract until Ukraine pays off a debt of $2.1 billion.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601095&sid=aFdtlPwak2fI

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