Russia, Belarus Extend Gas Supply, Transit Deals

Russia’s Gazprom reported late on December 31 that it had extended its gas supply and transit contracts with Belarus until 2021.

The two sides' existing contracts had been due to expire at the end of 2019. Under the new agreements, the volume of Russian gas supplied to and transited via Belarus will remain at the same level as last year, Gazprom said in a statement.

The two sides also signed a protocol for the pricing of gas supplies during January and February. Gas prices have been a thorny issue for Belarus and Russia in recent years, with previous disagreements leading to cuts to Russian oil and gas supply to Belarus in 2004, 2007 and 2010.

Belarus is also demanding compensation from Russia for changes in taxation that have driven up the cost of its Russian oil purchases, as well as for damages relating to the Druzhba dirty oil crisis in April.

Running parallel to energy talks, Belarus and Russia are negotiating the completion of a 20-year deal to form a union state. Moscow has said before that Minsk would be rewarded for closer integration with cheaper oil and gas supplies.