Dec 28, 2006, 19:07 GMT
Minsk - A top Belarusian official on Thursday claimed his country and the Russian natural gas monopolist Gazprom were close to a deal averting a energy supply cut to Europe, according to an Interfax news agency report.
'We (Belarus) have already agreed on a price (with Gazprom)...and we're close to settling the other issues,' said Sergei Sidorskiy, Belarus Prime Minister, during an official visit to Belarus' Mogilev province.
'I think we'll have a deal before the New Year,' he said.
Russia and Belarus have been at loggerheads for weeks in a dispute over how much Belarus should pay Gazprom for natural gas supplies, and how much Gazprom should pay Belarus for shipping Russian gas across Belarus to Europe.
Russia has threatened a cut-off of all gas supplies to Belarus as of January 1, if a deal is not reached. The threat if put into effect could deprive Europe of 20 per cent of its Russian natural gas imports.
Negotiators in Moscow already had settled on a price of 75 dollars per thousand cubic metres of natural gas sold to Belarus - a dramatic increase over the present 46 dollars, but still a giveaway compared to European consumers, who pay around 230 dollars.
'We are very satisfied with this price,' Sirdorskiy said.
Russian negotiators in past public statements had insisted on a price to Minsk approaching 200 dollars, or less if Belarus agreed to turn over its natural gas pipeline network to Gazprom.
Sergei Kurpianov, a Gazprom spokesman, told Interfax the sides 'indeed are close to agreeing on a price', but added Gazprom would not accept the 75 dollar figure in isolation.
The main sticking point in the talks was according to Kurpianov a jointly agreed-upon value of the Belarusian gas pipeline network.
Kuprianov told reporters an independent evaluator had assessed the value of the Belarus' Beltransgaz pipeline network at 5.3 billion dollars, a value considered by Gazprom to be inflated.
Sidorskiy without naming figures confirmed discussions were focusing on terms Gazprom might take a majority stake in Beltransgaz - a tacit admission that Belarus had abandoned its previous insistence it would not surrender control of its gas pipeline network to a foreign company.
Belarus would actively consider Gazprom's control of Belatransgaz, Sidorskiy implied, if revenues from the Belarusian government's minority stake could be guaranteed.
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