Moscow and Minsk have so far failed to reach an agreement on a new price formula for Russian gas supplies to Belarus, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Thursday.
"There is an existing contract until December 31, 2011. Some reports from Belarus claimed that new agreements on the price formula had been reached, but that is not true," Miller said.
"The gas price for Belarus will remain at the current level until the [current] contract expires," he said.
The current price for Russian gas supplies to Belarus is $244.70 per 1,000 cubic meters.
The sides are negotiating a new deal for 2012-2014, which Belarus intends to tie with the sale of the remaining 50 percent of Belarusian Beltransgaz for $2.5 billion. Russia has already bought 50 percent of the Belarusian state-run company for the same price.
"We are ready to pay that price on the same conditions as with the purchase of the first half," Miller said, adding that the two deals on a new gas formula and the purchase of Beltransgaz should be considered separately.
