BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

02/08/2007

Gazprom warns of cut in Belarus gas

Gazprom has threatened to make a big cut in natural gas to Belarus, saying the former Soviet Union republic has failed to pay for energy already delivered.

If carried out, the move by the Russian energy giant would certainly reduce natural gas deliveries to Europe, and increase European prices for the fuel, as Europe receives some 25 per cent of its natural gas from Gazprom through Belarus.

A statement from the Russian natural gas monopoly on Tuesday warned the Belarusian government it intended to reduce deliveries to Belarus to 45 per cent of present volumes.

A similar dispute between Gazprom and Minsk at the beginning of 2007 over oil pricing reduced Russian oil deliveries to Europe for more than a week, spiking the price of the fuel across East Europe and even as far away as Italy.

Belarus is considering an official response to the apparent Gazprom ultimatum, and hopes for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

Source:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=18201§ionid=351020602