War going on: Gazprom cuts gas supplies to Belarus 30%

As Belarus failed to pay for gas, the supplies cuts have been extended on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, Gazprom reduced gas supplies to Belarus by 30% of the planned volume due to the country’s debt, CEO of the gas giant Alexey Miller said.

“Belarus hasn’t taken any measures to repay the debt for the Russian gas deliveries over the last day, so the supplies to the Republic of Belarus are to be further reduced by 30% of the planned volume from 10 am June 22.,” Miller said at a meeting of the operative center on gas supplies to Belarus.

Some progress has been made in the issue of the Belarus’s gas debt and Gazprom’s sanctions on Monday, but the parties still remain far from consensus. Commenting on the start of the supplies cuts on Monday morning, deputy prime minister of Belarus Uladzimir Syamashka said the country would pay the debt within two weeks. According to him, the Belarusian party doesn’t hide the country has problems with hard currency, it needs to play in real time and pay for gas.

However, Gazprom is not satisfied with the terms offered by Syamashka. Sergey Kupriyanov, the gas monopolist’s official representative, said the company wouldn’t wait for two weeks.

Gazprom reduced gas flow to Belarus by 15% on Monday planning further reducing by 85%, to the level of the current debt.

The contracted price of Russian gas for Belarus in the second quarter is $184.8 per 1,000 cubic meters. It was $169.2 in the first quarter, and is to reach $193-194 in the third quarter. The annual average price is to amount to $187.

Since the beginning of 2010, Belarus has been paying Russia not according to the contract, but according to the unilaterally set price of $150. As a result, the country has now a debt of some $200 million. The Russian party warned Belarus about supplies cuts if the problem with paying wasn’t settled by June 21. As Belarus failed to pay the gas debt, Gazprom started reducing gas deliveries since 10.00 am Moscow time on Monday.