Lined up: Belarus payment catchup plan for Russian gas
Belarus maps out gas payment plan
Belarus is to start paying arrears for Russian gas shipments next month and complete the process by the end of the year, First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said today.
Semashko, addressing parliament as part of a government report on its activities, said debts for gas shipments totalled $230 million as of 1 July, a Reuters report said.
Russian giant Gazprom cited the same figure this month when demanding payment of arrears.
"We are saying that from 1 July we will start paying off debts that have accumulated," Semashko told the chamber.
He also said Belarus was proposing moving to European-level prices from 2014, not from 2011 as previously proposed by Russia.