Russia, Belarus to make decisions on gas policy :: Charter'97 :: News

Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko, on a visit in Moscow, expressed the hope that Russia and Belarus would make specific decisions on matters of the gas policy on Thursday. After the negotiations with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko, Semashko said the sides had been able to progress on the matter on Wednesday. The rest would be achieved on Thursday.

During the meeting the sides concentrated on discussing the ownership of Transnefteprodukt company, a source in the Russian delegation told Tass. He said the sides brought much closer their positions, and the ultimate decision would be formalized in the appropriate documents in the days ahead.

Russia and Belarus differ on Transnefteprodukt regarding the ownership of the mainland pipelines that stretch over Belarussian territory. Russia’ s conviction about its ownership of the pipelines is based on the 1992 agreements signed after the break-up of the USSR. The countries acted on the basis of precisely these agreements in the recent years.

Under these documents, if facilities were the property of the RSFSR (the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic) in the Soviet times and were built on its funds they are Russian property now.

During the negotiations the two deputy premiers also discussed questions of the price policy in the area of Russian gas deliveries to Belarus and the setting up of a joint gas transport company on the basis of Beltransgaz.

The dialogue has the aim to decide a set of problems regarding the value of the sales of Russian gas. Moscow links this question with reaching an agreement on the terms of Gazprom’s participation in Beltransgaz activities. Belarus describes the problem as political while Russia as economic. It is debated whether Beltransgaz is to be sold at balance value and Minsk to receive cheap gas, or whether it be sold at market value which presupposes Russian gas being sold at commercial prices.

Moscow and Minsk have already reached a compromise on the terms of setting up a joint venture on the basis of Beltransgaz. The shares of the Russian and Belarusian sides in the fixed assets of the future joint- stock company have, specifically, been determined. Besides, Russia agreed to the market value of Beltransgaz being assessed by an independent international company. Such an assessment is expected to be made by the middle of the year.

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Beltransgaz director-general Piotr Ptukh discussed on January 27 the terms of the supply of Russian gas to Belarus and its transit over Belarussian territory in 2004. Ptukh said the Belarusian side expects shortly to sign an agreement with Gazprom. “The negotiations proceed in a civilized way and the positions of the sides were coordinated to 80 percent”, he said.