Belarus` debt to Russia`s Gazprom dn to $152 mln as of Oct 31 :: Charter'97 :: News

Belarus’ debt for natural gas supplies from Russia`s natural gas monopoly Gazprom fell to U.S. $152.0 million as of October 31 from $169.7 million at the start of the year, Valery Zagorodin, deputy general director of Belarus’ state gas pipeline monopoly Beltransgaz, told Prime-Tass Tuesday.

Of the total, Belarus’ debt for natural gas supplies in 1999-2002 decreased to $117.0 million from about $134.5 million in the period, Zagorodin said.

Belarus’ debt to Gazprom stood at $134.59 million as of January 1, 2003, including $78.49 million of principal debt and $56.1 million of interest.

In December 2003, Beltransgaz and Gazprom signed an agreement on restructuring the principal debt for the gas supplied to Belarus in 1999, 2001 and 2002. Talks on interest payments were expected in the first half of 2004, but they haven`t been held so far, Zagorodin said.

Under the agreement, the principal debt was to be paid off over three years through monthly installments in cash, starting from December 2003. The interest rate for the outstanding debt amounts to 25% of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) refinancing rate, which currently stands at 13%. According to the agreement, Belarus should pay for all current gas supplies from Russia in full.

Zagorodin said that Belarus is paying off the debt for natural gas supplied in previous years in good time.