Gas price remain secret after negotiations of Lukashenka and Medvedev (Video)

Dmitry Medvedev and Alyaksandr Lukashenka agreed on principles of Russian gas supplies to Belarus in 2009, Natalya Timakova, press secretary of the Russian president, said after the negotiations of the leaders of the two countries.

“The parties have agreed on basic principles of gas supplies to Belarus next year,” Timakova said.

New gas price for Belarus hasn’t been announced yet. In the first quarter of 2008, gas price for Minsk amounted to $119.53 per 1,000 cubic meters, and $127.9 per 1,000 cubic meters in the second quarter of the year.

Agreements with Belarus were reached at a time when Russia again met problems with Ukraine, whose debt to Russia is estimated at almost $2.5 billion.

Gazprom’s representative Sergei Kupriyanov told at a press conference in RIA Novosti on December 18, Ukraine didn’t plan to pay off its debt by the end of 2008, and in this case Gazprom didn’t have legal grounds to deliver gas to the country from January 1.

It should be reminded that besides gas issue, Alyaksandr Lukashenka was going to discuss with Dmitry Medvedev another loan for Belarus. Lukashenka counted to gain a 100 billion-ruble ($3.5 billion) loan.

The Russian government earlier agreed to grant Belarus a $2 billion stabilization loan. Belarus received half of this sum back in November.

According to Kommersant daily, Lukashenka may get a positive response if he recognizes independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and gives Gazprom a controlling bloc of stock of Belarusian state gas transit firm Beltransgaz.