Belarusian gas debt to be negotiated at prime ministers’ level :: Charter'97 :: News

The working visit of the prime minister of Belarus Syargei Sydorsky is due on 30 July. He is to discuss granting of the loan of USD 1.5 billion for making payments for Russian gas deliveries to the republic, NEWSru.com reports.

The two-day negotiations in Moscow were fruitless. The Kommersant states that the negotiations were opened with mutually unacceptable demands: the Belarusians requested extension of the repayment period until the end of the year without imposing penalty sanctions and Russia was ready to grant the short-term credit of USD 450-500 through Gazprombank at the 12% interest rate. By the end of the year the debt of Minsk (excluding interests and penalties) may comprise USD 970 million.
Actually the money for repaying the gas debt is available with the Belarusian party. 4 June the Gazprom transferred USD 625 million for 12.5% of the bought Beltransgaz stock .But yet in May the deputy prime –minister of Belarus Uladzimir Syamashka declared that the money received for the sold Beltransgaz share was not to be spent on the debt to Gazprom repayment but to be transferred to the budget fund for the national development for implementation of the investment projects.
In his interview to the “Le Mond” newspaper Lukashenka explained in his own way why Russia had to continue gas deliveries to the former soviet countries at the preferential prices.”Not only Belarus but Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine are meant with this respect. However it was we, Belarus and Ukraine that participated in the Gazprom establishment, in Siberia pipelines c construction in the soviet times, yet. That is why we have the right of receiving gas at the same price as the Russians”.