MOSCOW – Russia and Belarus are still unable to reach understanding in the issue of the price of Russian gas, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters on Saturday.
“There is no progress. Line of reasoning is still the same, options of the solution are changing and [the sides] haven’t reached understanding yet. Anyway, we insist on payments in last year’s total amount under the previous formula,” he said.
As reported, differing interpretations of the formula for computing the price of Russian gas have given rise to a dispute over payments between Moscow and Minsk. Belarus’ underpayment in 2016 may reach $500 million. As a result, Russia has reduced the amount of crude oil it supplies to Belarus. The schedule for the first quarter stipulates shipment of 4 million tonnes of oil to Belarus, down from 5.5 million tonnes in the first quarter two years ago.
