"So Long, Goodbye": Russia Returned Lukashenka Advance Payment For Gas

According to Deputy Prime Minister, it’s difficult to conduct gas negotiations with the Belarusian authorities.

Russia is waiting for the full payment for gas, supplied in 2016, and the advance, offered by the Belarusian side, does not make the process of negotiations easier, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has said to reporters, interfax.ru informs.

"We do not wait for a upfront payment. The advance has long been returned," – he said.

"The negotiations are going on. They are quite hard-hitting," – Dvorkovich said.

It is to be reminded that on December 8, the Belarusian authorities reported that an advance payment for gas had been transferred to Russia, but they did not give the exact amount.

According to Gazprom data, in the period from January to September 2016, the Belarusian consumers accumulated debt for gas deliveries in the amount of $ 340 million.

In the third quarter Russia cut oil supplies to Belarus up to 3.5 million tons. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Energy Minister Alexander Novak explained that it happened due to the conflict caused by non-payments for Russian gas. In the fourth quarter, he gas supply was expected to be cut down by 500 thousand tons, up to 3 million tons.