Russia no fine be imposed on Belarus for the shortage of gas.

SyuzhetyTseny on the gas to the CIS in 2009 godu27.03.2009Belorussiya agreed price for Russian gazRossiya will not be fined for shortage of gas to Belarus in 2009. The statement was made by the Ambassador of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov, Interfax reports. According to Surikov, Belarus can nedobrat on the basis of 2009, five billion cubic meters of gas. The reason for this was the warm winter, as well as reduced production at the Belarusian enterprises.
According to the contract concluded between Beltransgaz and Gazprom, Belarus must be redeemed in 2009, 21.6 billion cubic meters of gas. In 2008 this figure amounted to 21.1 billion cubic meters, which is 2.3 billion less than the planned figure.
At the end of March 2009 it was reported that Belarus had agreed on price for Russian gas. Earlier, Russian media reported that the average price for gas for Belarus could reach 148 dollars per thousand cubic meters. However, Gazprom announced that an agreement to pay for Russian gas at a fixed average price does not exist.
Earlier, Gazprom had promised to waive the penalties for arrears of gas to Ukraine. This was in early March 2009 chairman of the board of Gazprom Alexei Miller. According to the prisoner in the January 2009 contract, "Naftogaz" to be imported this year, 40 billion cubic meters of gas. Later, the Ukrainian company has asked to reduce gas supplies to 33 billion cubic meters.
Ukraine reduced gas imports from Russia because of the sharp decline in GDP and reduction in industrial production due to the effects of global crisis. For these same reasons have been reduced fuel supplies to Europe. In connection with the reduction in the volume of gas deliveries, as well as reducing fuel costs, the profit of Gazprom fell significantly. By some estimates, in 2009, Gazprom lost at least 200 billion rubles of revenue.