S.Kuprijanov: "Gazprom" has a quite clear commercial interest in Belarus

Official representative of “Gazprom” public corporation Sergei Kupriyanov said to the “Ekho Moskvy” radio station that the price for Russian gas for Belarus in 2009 will be below the suggested one, though in the first quarter of this year it will be above 120 dollars for one thousand cubic meters.

Official representative of “Gazprom” public corporation Sergei Kupriyanov said to the “Ekho Moskvy” radio station that the price for Russian gas for Belarus in 2009 will be below the suggested one, though in the first quarter of this year it will be above 120 dollars for one thousand cubic meters.

«In Belarus, we become the proprietor of 50 per cent of «Beltransgaz» stocks, and we are the operator of the Belarus site of the gas pipeline Yamal - Europe», S.Kupriyanov said. Thus, relatively low gas prices for Belarus are explained by the fact that “Gazprom” has an «absolutely clear commercial interest» in the country.

It is a well known fact that at the very end of 2008 a Belarusian delegation headed to Moscow to agree on gas prices. However, the deputy head of “Gazprom” Alexander Medvedev has stated in December that the price has not been agreed upon, and that the parties have only specified the contract conditions for the delivery of gas to Belarus in 2009.

The negotiations were predetermined by the agreements reached during Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko’s visit to Moscow on December, 22, explained the deputy head of the holding.

The positive moment in Belarus-Russia interaction as far as gas is concerned is that additional agreements about gas prices can be achieved wherever the Belarusian side sees it convenient, Sergei Kupriyanov added.