Belarus’ expenditures on natural gas imports from Russia dropped by 6.7% YoY in January-June to $1.257 billion, a source in the profile ministry reported.
In H1 Belarus purchased 9.188 billion cubic meters of Russian gas, down by 2.8% YoY.
Since early 2016 Belarus has repeatedly questioned whether the current price of Russian gas supplies is fair enough.
In July, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Belarus owed Gazprom $270 million. Gazprom said Minsk underpaid the company for gas, while Belarus insisted the fair price would be $73 per 1,000 cubic metres instead of $132.77. Minsk did not acknowledge the debt, while Russia insisted that Belarus should keep paying the contract price until the parties reached a compromise. (Prime-TASS/Business World Magazine)