Russian Gas Supplies to Poland to Be Cut By Third

Russian gas supplies to Poland are to be reduced according to an agreement signed today by Polish and Russian deputy prime ministers Marek Pol and Viktor Khristenko. Supplies of Russian gas will be reduced by a third up to 2022, which will allow Poland to save around USD 5 billion over this period.

The agreement supplements a Russian-Polish treaty from 1993 on transporting Russia gas through Poland and supplying gas to Poland. The possibility of signing such an agreement was discussed during Marek Pol's January visit to Moscow.

According to Rosbalt's correspondent, the two deputy prime ministers told journalists that the talks 'were very difficult' and expressed the hope that the document would help to strengthen economic ties between Poland and Russia. In particular, Marek Pol noted that with the signing of the agreement 'a major obstacle to the development of Russian-Polish business relations has been overcome.'

A year ago Poland began to call for a renegotiation of the contract for supplies of Russian gas as the amount of gas it was receiving was surplus to requirements.