Russia, Belarus near deal on gas prices

Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of Minsk, Dec 31: Belarus and Russia appeared on Saturday to be moving towards resolution of a row over 2007 gas prices that has threatened to disrupt gas deliveries to Western Europe in the new year.

A spokesman for Belarus's Prime Minister said in Minsk that a deal had been struck by negotiators meeting in Moscow ahead of a Sunday deadline. But Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which had complained the Belarus delegation was not senior enough to sign any deal, said it was too soon to say a final agreement had been sealed.

The dispute between two former Soviet republics has revived memories of a similar Russian row with Ukraine last year that briefly disrupted supplies to Western Europe. That development stirred an intense debate in Western Europe about the wisdom of increasing dependency on deliveries of Russian gas.

''A deal has been reached on prices for gas supplies in 2007, rates of transit shipment fees via the Yamal-Europe pipeline as well as the terms of a transfer of $2.5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay $105 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from $46 now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only $75, of which $30 would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters .5 billion to the budget of Belarus as payment for 50 percent of Beltransgas,'' Alexander Timoshenko, the spokesman for Belarus' prime minister said in a statement.

He gave no details and said no deal had yet been reached for 2008-2010.

Russian officials were more guarded about the outcome of the talks.

''It is premature to say that we have reached a final deal.

We have to wait until the final deal is signed,'' Gazprom's spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told Reuters.

Gazprom has threatened to cut gas supplies to Belarus, one of the transit routes for gas to European consumers, at 0700 GMT on Jan. 1 unless Belarus agrees to pay more for gas, while Minsk has threatened to disrupt transit shipments.

The latest round of gas talks with Belarus ended abruptly late on Friday after Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko said he would not tolerate Russia's ''blackmail'' and his nation would rather ''go into the bunkers but will not surrender''.

The row with Belarus, hitherto a loyal Kremlin ally even as other ex-Soviet republics sought to move out of Moscow's orbit, is part of a wider drive by Gazprom to bring its prices in the former Soviet Union closer to European levels.

The European Commission and Germany have pressed the two sides to reach an agreement quickly to end the dispute out of fear it could have an impact on supplies to European consumers as a similar row with Ukraine did last January.

Belarus, compared with Ukraine however, handles only a relatively small amount of Russian gas to Europe, with supplies going mainly to Germany and Poland.

Gazprom and Germany have said they stockpiled enough gas to cover initial shortages, but Gazprom has warned there might be problems if Belarus bit heavily into transit volumes.

Gazprom had said it would not change its latest offer and wanted Belarus to pay 5 per 1,000 cubic metres from 2007, up from now. It also wanted a share of Belarus local pipelines, Beltransgas.

But Belarus wants to pay only , of which would be covered by Gazprom's payments for the shares of Beltransgas.

The gas row has reflected on other industries in the past weeks, with Moscow slapping an export duty on crude oil exports to Belarus, thus threatening to undermine the neighbour's economy by cutting profits of Belarus' state refineries.

Belarus state oil firm Belneftekhim said on Saturday it had scrapped all 2007 deals with Russian firms on imports of around 400,000 barrels per day of oil as those deals were loss-making.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Moscow was losing billions of dollars every year by allowing oil firms to send oil to Belarus's refineries, which were then re-exporting refined products to European markets.

Reuters