Will Russia and Belarus Be Able to Solve the Dispute over Gas Supply?

• 11.30.2016, 23:19
•  EEU

Russia and Belarus are close to solving a dispute over gas prices, Belarussian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik told reporters on Wednesday.

The long-term allies have been at odds since the start of the year over how much Minsk should be paying Russia's Gazprom for gas supplies following a slump in global energy prices.

Potupchik said Minsk had sent Moscow new proposals on how to solve the row and that he expected officials from the two countries to hold talks this week, Reuters reports.

Minsk, which says a gas price set by Gazprom of US$132 per 1,000 cubic meters is too high, has been paying less on delivery since the start of the year and Gazprom says it is owed US$270 million for the first six months of 2016.

Belarus, which received 21 billion cubic metres of gas from Gazprom in 2015, has previously said it sees US$73 per 1,000 cubic metres as a fair price for gas.

However, according to experts, the problems between Belarus and Russia are not getting solved, and the tension is growing and becoming aggravated.

''Moscow is still worried, interested and concerned by Belarus as a geostrategic foothold. Russia is ready to make some economic concessions, ready to pay for the loyalty of the Belarusian regime for the sake of the Russian military presence and using the territory of Belarus for the needs of foreign and military policy'', - told Uladzimir Matskevich, philosopher and methodologist.

''Belarus is already making some steps in the direction of Russia in advance: for example, the Belarusian delegation at the UN tried to block the resolution condemning the occupation of Crimea and to take off the entire range of issues put to a vote,'' he added, according to Eurobelarus.info.

However the expert said that even if there is a certain thaw in the Belarus-Russia relations, it will be not even of a temporary nature but a fake show-off thing.

''Problems are not getting solved, and the tension is growing and becoming aggravated'', - Matskevich concluded.