Novak: No Compromise With Belarus On Gas Without Debt Coverage

Russian Energy Minister has set tough conditions before the Belarusian authorities.

The implementation of the compromise agreement with Belarus on the price of the Russian gas will be available after the repayment of debt for the year 2016 and the beginning of 2017, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said.

"The condition for the implementation of the compromise agreement is the full repayment of the debt that has accumulated over 2016 and the first months of 2017," — Novak has in an interview to the RBK TV-channel on the sidelines of the Investment Forum in Sochi.

The debt of the Belarusian companies for the already shipped Russian gas almost reached $ 600 million, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Monday.

According to Novak, the current demand of the Belarusian side is to buy the Russian gas at equal-netback pricing.

"We are considering various options, but we haven’t come to the final decision yet, I hope that these decisions will be taken in the near future," — the Minister has said.

Russia and Belarus have not yet settled the oil and gas dispute, which has lasted from the beginning of 2016, when Minsk announced the injustice of the prices for the Russian gas and unilaterally began to pay for it at a lower price. Russia, in turn, announced a reduction of duty-free oil supplies to Belarus by linking it with both underpayment for the gas, and a failure to supply oil products to the Russian Federation.