“Gazprom” offered Lukashenka credit as ultimatum :: Charter'97 :: News

Bilateral Russian-Belarusian talks on gas supplies in 2004 failed one more time yesterday. Head of the board of directors OAO “Gazprom” Aleksey Miller and OAO “Beltransgaz” general executive Petr Petuh stayed on their previous positions with an agreement to meet in a couple of days. Most likely, “Beltransgaz” needs a pause for negotiations with President Lukashenka. In the last four days there were two telephone talks between President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian colleague. However, Minsk did not leave his claims for reduced prices for gas, but did not agree on “Gazprom’s” offer to buy “Beltransgaz”.

However, as the sources close to one of the sides reported, the Russian side has given up to understand Lukashenka’s logics and made a decision to demand the most pragmatic and sever conditions of cooperation. “Lukashenka is used to act by the principle that the state is he himself. So Belarus’ state interests in regards to Russia are changing, the same goes for the block of gas issues. But we decided not to take into consideration Lukashenka’s ideas about the state and not to follow the principle of equal and market relations between the two states,” said the same source.

However, Minsk is not ready for such concessions to “Gazprom”. Lukashenka keeps on reminding that he can submit all Russia’s bills for the services within the framework of the Union State. It means the provision of the boarders’ infrastructure, single customs and frontier troops, Russian war objects and fees for gas and oil transit. Lukashenka estimated the total of 20 milliard dollars. “You carry 100 million tons of goods back and forth through Belarus,-said the Belarusian leader in his address to the Russian government.- If we take $10 for a ton, we’ll have a milliard dollars annually only from transit!” But judging by how the events are developing, having rejected Russia’s proposals Belarus will soon be left without gas, which makes up 90% of the necessary energy resources.