Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) cannot supply gas to Belarus without a contract, Alexander Medvedev, head of Gazprom Export and a deputy Gazprom CEO, said at a Tuesday press conference in Moscow.

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A trial over a well-known human rights activist Valery Schukin is to be reopened in the court of Kastrychnitski district of Vitsebsk on December 30. Valery Schukin has demanded to summon additional witnesses to the court.

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On December 24 in Blahaushchyna Forests at the territory of the former extermination camp Trastsyanets opposition activists held a meeting in memory of a Roman Catholic priest and resistance fighter Vintsent Hadleuski, who was shot there by the Nazi on December 24, 1942. According one of the organizers of the event, Vyachaslau Siuchyk, only 50 persons managed to get to the forest. Cars and buses with dozens of people were intercepted by traffic police.

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Gazprom has taken steps to meet Belarus halfway regarding all issues of gas deliveries to the republic next year, the Russian gas giant`s CEO Alexei Miller told Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko at a meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, Interfax informs. "Gazprom agreed with the assessment of the value of Beltransgaz, 50% of which may be used to pay for Russian gas," Miller said. Beltransgaz was valued at $5 billion, although [Gazprom] views $3.3 billion as this enterprise`s maximal value, he said. However, according to ITAR-TASS, Gazprom and the Belarusian government delegation have failed to reach agreement on the price of Russian natural gas deliveries to Belarus in 2007.

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Kaliningrad governor Georgy Boos does not expect “any troubles on the part of Belarus” in connection with the problem of gas deliveries problem to that country which hasn’t been settled”.

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On December 25 in Vorsha a search was held in the apartment of a young activist Syarzhuk Huminski. As the young activist said, policemen were obviously looking for something which could be evidence that Huminski is having a bearing on numerous political graffiti which are emerging on the streets of the city more and more often. They didn’t found anything and left the apartment.

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Yesterday young activists Aleh Korban and Zmitser Khvedaruk were released from a remand prison in Akrestsin Street. They had served 15-day arrests for a protest on Kastrychnitskaya Square on the Day of Human Rights.

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Four young activists from Mahilyou are facing a fine from 5 to 25 basic units for making graffiti. Young people were detained in the evening on December 22 in Savetskaya Square after making a few graffiti "Young Front Cannot Be Stopped". The unknown in mufti stroke them down to the ground and only after that showed their IDs of officers of the special rapid reaction unit.

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An administrative case brought up against a well-known human rights activists Valery Schukin is to be considered in Kastrychnitski court of Vitsebsk today. The human rights activist is charged with violation of the article No. 156 (petty hooliganism). On December 23 he tried to help candidates for deputies, heads of initiative groups and human rights activist to come to the session of Vitsebsk regional election commission which studied complaints of candidates which hadn’t been registered.

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Gazprom has officially entered into the same situation with Belarus as occurred with Ukraine last year. The monopoly has warned that the contract to supply that country with gas expires on December 31, and called its negotiating position irresponsible. Both Gazprom and Russian authorities had been saying that the two sides would be able to reach an agreement. However, they prepared themselves in advance for the shutoff of the Belarusian gas by stocking up the needed volumes of gas in German and Baltic reservoirs, Kommersant informs.

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An activist of elections observation campaign “Partnerstva”, a political prisoner Tsimafei Dranchuk has been released today from the penal colony No.1 in Minsk. The Charter’97 press center has been informed about that by the father of political prisoner Valery Dranchuk.

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