Gazprom closes the books on relations with Belarus

The Russian Gazprom company closes the books on relations with Belarus, the company's press secretary Sergei Kupriyanov said commenting for RIA Novosti the Russian Government's cancellation of its resolution, according to which Gazprom supplied gas to Belarus at Russia's home prices. The decision to cancel the resolution, which had been effective since May last year, has been published today.

Late last week Gazprom notified the Belarus national gas company, Beltransgaz, that it no longer intended to continue the talks on establishing a joint gas transportation consortium, the Russian company's spokesman said. "It is not only a high or low price of gas that matters here, but the difference in understanding the very principles on which gas business is based," he said.

"Our approaches to how the cost of assets is to be evaluated and how a gas company should operate and develop are different. Therefore we consider that further cooperation and talks on establishing a joint consortium make no sense," the spokesman explained.

He said the Russian company supplied gas to Belarus at reduced prices for over a year, and that, in keeping with package agreements by July 1, "some progress should have been made in establishing a joint enterprise, but this has not happened." "So, we are closing the books on relations with Belarus," the Gazprom spokesman stressed.

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