By Dinka on 2006-12-29 
Belarus is sending a delegation to Moscow today in a last-minute attempt to defuse a gas crisis with Russia.
Andrey Zhukau, an aide to Belarus' energy minister, says Minsk has good hopes of reaching a deal with Russia's state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom.
The gas giant is threatening to cut gas supplies to Belarus on January 1 if Minsk doesn't meet the new rate of $105 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas -- more than twice what Belarus currently pays.
Belarus has said it will siphon off Russian gas bound to Europe in the event of a gas shutoff.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
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