by Natalya Grib
Another round of gas talks between Russia and Belarus broke up Tuesday without agreement. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has five days to make up his mind whether to pay market prices for Russian gas or agree that Belarus will become a part of the Russian state. In the former case, gas prices for Belarus will go up from $46.7 to $105 per 1,000 cu. meters. Should the latter be true, Belarus will have to enter the Russian-Belarusian United State on the Kremlin’s terms. Yesterday, delay with the decision making has stalemated talks between Gazprom and the Belarusian government.
Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko went to Moscow on Tuesday to negotiate gas prices for his country with Gazprom’s head, Alexey Miller. The talks floundered again. All that the Belarusian official did in Moscow was informing Gazprom that the Belarusian government still has some time to think over the deal. Gazprom responded with a reminder that the current contract with the Belarusian pipeline network, Beltransgaz, expires on Sunday, December 31, and the Russians do not have any short-term or long-term contract on gas shipments to their neighbor.
Breaking a tradition of keeping business offers in secret, Gazprom released details on the course of gas talks with the Belarusian government yesterday. Alexander Medvedev, a member of Gazprom’s board and director general of Gazprom Export, give details at a presser in Moscow on the way Gazprom was changing its stance on gas prices this year. Russia entered the talks, suggesting raising prices to $200/1,000 cu. meters, the official said. However, as gas exports to Belarus are not taxed, the talks opened with the price of $170. Yet, the Belarusian party dismissed the offer as the one that runs against the allied spirit. Gazprom lowered the bar to $110 and ended up with offering $105 at Tuesday’s talks in Moscow.
Gazprom was expected to receive stocks of Beltransgaz in 2007-2010 as part of payments for natural gas. In addition, Gazprom would have received from Belarus $1.5 billion ($75/1,000 cu. meters) next year and $2.1 billion ($105) in 2008, sending the total of 20 billion cu. meters of gas to its Western neighbor. Gazprom Chief Executive Alexey Miller confirmed Tuesday that the Russian gas monopolist was willing to pay $2.5 billion for Betransgaz’s shares. Managers at the Russian gas giant underscored, though, that they had met the Belarusians half-way, consenting to pay this sum, calculated on the basis of the company’s value of $5 billion – the highest evaluation, given by the ABN Amro auditor firm. Gazprom, however, says Beltransgaz is worth $3.5 billion.
“In order to avoid accusations of Belarus, we have given the full consideration to the nature of bilateral relations within the united state framework,” Alexander Medvedev said on Tuesday, explaining Gazprom’s unprecedented concessions for Belarus, compared to tough gas talks with other CIS members. Gazprom, however, gave up this allied position, Mr. Medvedev informed, and “the party went back to their unrealistic demands.” Unlike Gazprom’s spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov who expressed harsh ultimatums to Belarus on Monday, Alexey Medvedev urged against “making negative forecasts”.
A Kommersant source close to the Kremlin explained why Mr. Medvedev declined to foretell Gazprom’s actions in the first days of the New Year. The official told Kommersant that Alexander Lukashenko had been offered to accept the Kremlin’s terms on the integration of Russia and Belarus, among which, is holding the integration referendum as early as in 2007. Pavel Borodin, State Secretary of the united state of Russia and Belarus, confirmed it indirectly, saying in an interview with Kommersant that “all the issues will be settled next year”. He said that in March the Supreme State Council would endorse a draft constitution, a date for the referendum and the Russian ruble as the single currency.
Alexander Lukashenko gave an official comment on the gas stalemate for the first time over the past two weeks. “Talks on natural gas supplies from Russia came difficult for us,” the Interfax news agency quoted the Belarusian president as saying.
Back in 2004, Gazprom turned off the tap for Belarus, which left Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, Lithuania and Poland without gas as the Belarusians siphoned off from Russia’s export pipes for their own use. Officials at Gazprom said Tuesday that “underground gas storages are used to meet gas shortfalls in crisis situations”. He also assured that European consumers will not be affected by a possible cut. Gazprom, however, was unable to say how much gas had been pumped into underground storages in Germany and Lithuania. Reaching no agreement on gas prices, Russia and Belarus also failed to sign a contract on Russian gas transit shipments to Europe on Tuesday.
kommersant.com
Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko went to Moscow on Tuesday to negotiate gas prices for his country with Gazprom’s head, Alexey Miller. The talks floundered again. All that the Belarusian official did in Moscow was informing Gazprom that the Belarusian government still has some time to think over the deal. Gazprom responded with a reminder that the current contract with the Belarusian pipeline network, Beltransgaz, expires on Sunday, December 31, and the Russians do not have any short-term or long-term contract on gas shipments to their neighbor.
Breaking a tradition of keeping business offers in secret, Gazprom released details on the course of gas talks with the Belarusian government yesterday. Alexander Medvedev, a member of Gazprom’s board and director general of Gazprom Export, give details at a presser in Moscow on the way Gazprom was changing its stance on gas prices this year. Russia entered the talks, suggesting raising prices to $200/1,000 cu. meters, the official said. However, as gas exports to Belarus are not taxed, the talks opened with the price of $170. Yet, the Belarusian party dismissed the offer as the one that runs against the allied spirit. Gazprom lowered the bar to $110 and ended up with offering $105 at Tuesday’s talks in Moscow.
Gazprom was expected to receive stocks of Beltransgaz in 2007-2010 as part of payments for natural gas. In addition, Gazprom would have received from Belarus $1.5 billion ($75/1,000 cu. meters) next year and $2.1 billion ($105) in 2008, sending the total of 20 billion cu. meters of gas to its Western neighbor. Gazprom Chief Executive Alexey Miller confirmed Tuesday that the Russian gas monopolist was willing to pay $2.5 billion for Betransgaz’s shares. Managers at the Russian gas giant underscored, though, that they had met the Belarusians half-way, consenting to pay this sum, calculated on the basis of the company’s value of $5 billion – the highest evaluation, given by the ABN Amro auditor firm. Gazprom, however, says Beltransgaz is worth $3.5 billion.
“In order to avoid accusations of Belarus, we have given the full consideration to the nature of bilateral relations within the united state framework,” Alexander Medvedev said on Tuesday, explaining Gazprom’s unprecedented concessions for Belarus, compared to tough gas talks with other CIS members. Gazprom, however, gave up this allied position, Mr. Medvedev informed, and “the party went back to their unrealistic demands.” Unlike Gazprom’s spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov who expressed harsh ultimatums to Belarus on Monday, Alexey Medvedev urged against “making negative forecasts”.
A Kommersant source close to the Kremlin explained why Mr. Medvedev declined to foretell Gazprom’s actions in the first days of the New Year. The official told Kommersant that Alexander Lukashenko had been offered to accept the Kremlin’s terms on the integration of Russia and Belarus, among which, is holding the integration referendum as early as in 2007. Pavel Borodin, State Secretary of the united state of Russia and Belarus, confirmed it indirectly, saying in an interview with Kommersant that “all the issues will be settled next year”. He said that in March the Supreme State Council would endorse a draft constitution, a date for the referendum and the Russian ruble as the single currency.
Alexander Lukashenko gave an official comment on the gas stalemate for the first time over the past two weeks. “Talks on natural gas supplies from Russia came difficult for us,” the Interfax news agency quoted the Belarusian president as saying.
Back in 2004, Gazprom turned off the tap for Belarus, which left Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, Lithuania and Poland without gas as the Belarusians siphoned off from Russia’s export pipes for their own use. Officials at Gazprom said Tuesday that “underground gas storages are used to meet gas shortfalls in crisis situations”. He also assured that European consumers will not be affected by a possible cut. Gazprom, however, was unable to say how much gas had been pumped into underground storages in Germany and Lithuania. Reaching no agreement on gas prices, Russia and Belarus also failed to sign a contract on Russian gas transit shipments to Europe on Tuesday.
kommersant.com
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