Gazprom plans to sign contracts with Belarus and buy the 50 percent of the national pipeline operator that it does not already own in early December.
Terms of new gas supply and transit contracts will be linked to the Beltransgaz acquisition, Gazprom said Thursday. Current gas agreements expire at the end of this year.
Russia has linked disbursement of bailout loans to Belarus selling $7.5 billion of assets in the next three years. Russia plans to introduce a discount for natural gas supplies to Belarus starting Jan. 1, contingent on Gazprom gaining control of Belarus' gas pipeline company, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Aug. 15.
(Bloomberg)