Talks between Belarus and Russia's state-owned energy provider Gazprom ended Tuesday without agreement, raising the possibility of a natural gas cut-off next week if Belarus does not agree to a sharp price hike.
Gazprom is seeking $200 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas from its western neighbor beginning January 1 - up from the current price of $47.
A similar dispute one year ago triggered a brief interruption of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and to a host of European countries. The cut-off triggered Western criticism of Moscow as an energy provider.
In Moscow Tuesday, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said there is no reason for Europe to fear a repeat of last year's crisis, because Gazprom has stockpiled reserves to cover any gas flow interruption.
Kupriyanov also repeated Russia's offer to provide Belarus with gas at $110 per cubic meter, if the Minsk government agrees to surrender ownership of 50 percent of its state-owned pipeline. Talks are set to continue this week.
Last week, Gazprom signed a contract with Georgia setting its price for Russian gas at $235 per 1,000 cubic meters. Georgia has since reached a deal to buy some natural gas from Turkey at cheaper prices.
Meanwhile, Russia's Interfax news agency says there has been a delay in plans to launch a joint venture with Kazakhstan at a gas processing plant in Russia on January 1.
The report said neither party has signed off on details of the venture to process gas from a huge field in western Kazakhstan. No launch date has been announced.
By VOA News
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