Belarus’ Demand for Gas Price Reduction Unjustified – Russian Deputy PM

Russia sees no point in lowering gas prices for Belarus but is studying its proposals in order to find common ground, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said after months of talks.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Minsk has been in talks with Moscow since the start of the year in a bid to clinch a gas price reduction from the current $142 to about $73 per 1,000 cubic meters.

"We still do not understand why we should go along with a lower price," Dvorkovich told the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Thursday.

He added that Moscow would look into Minsk’s new proposals that had been submitted earlier that day. "We will give our opinion on them, but at the moment there is no decision," Dvorkovich said.

Dvorkovich last met with Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko late last month, but failed to reach a conclusive decision on the gas price.