CERNOBBIO (Sputnik) — Moscow and Minsk have been locked in talks over the price of Russian gas supplied to Belarusian consumers. In July, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Belarus owes $270 million in unpaid gas bills to Russia.
"We have not agreed on anything…There are offers from the Belarusian side, we have not even made our own offers. Until Belarus pays, I doubt anything can be reached," Dvorkovich said on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy.
Minsk has been refusing to recognize the debt, saying that the price of $132.77 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas demanded by Moscow is unfair. Russia has stressed that payments must be made in line with the contract.
In late August, Russian media reported that the two countries had agreed on a new pricing formula for 2017, with a new agreed price of $100 per 1,000 cubic meters and a ruble-based calculation. In turn, Belarus allegedly agreed to settle its debt in accordance with the former price. The negotiating sides did not confirm the reports.
Belarus has been seeking to reduce the price it pays from $142 per 1,000 cubic meters to about $73. In late May, Dvorkovich and his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Semashko held negotiations on gas prices, but failed to reach a conclusive decision on the issue.
