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Belarus Sets Ultimatum, Threatens to Stop Gas Transit Again
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Belarus is involved in a bitter dispute with Russia in which the two accuse each other of unpaid dues for natural gas delivery and transit.
The gas dispute between Russia and Belarus is not over with the announcement earlier today that Gazprom will resume delivery to Belarus, according to sources from both countries, quoted by Russian agency Interfax.
Belarussian first deputy PM Vladimir Semashko announced around 11.00 EET a deadline of 13.00 EET Thursday for Russia to make an additional payment on transit fees. Should Gazprom fail to deliver the payment, Belarus would make proportional reductions in the transmission of gas through its territory.
Earlier Thursday sources from Belarusian Beltransgaz announced that Gazprom had not adequately paid its dues for transit fees.
Gazprom representative Sergey Kupriyanov commented that the Belarussian side had requested a higher rate for transit and had rejected payment at the old rate.
Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller added that demands from Belarus do not correspond to contracts signed between the two parties and that they are thus illicit. Miller said Gazprom received a letter from Belarusian deputy PM Semashko threatening to stop transit of gas through the country's territory.
Later Thursday Gazrpom's Kuprianov, as quoted by RIA Novosti, announced that Gazprom has swiftly reacted to the situation, by sending to Belarus documents that can formalize the higher transit rates requested by the Belarussian side.
In return for agreeing to the transit rate hike, Gazprom requests an adequate raise in Belarusian internal wholesale gas prices, of which the Russian comany owns a percentage.
A halting of natural gas transit through Belarus can obstruct delivery to Lithuania, Poland and Germany, as well as the Russian Kaliningrad region.
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