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Belarus, Russia to hold talks on gas supplies on September 13-14 — deputy PM

The Belarusian side prefers the option of equal prices

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MINSK, September 12. /TASS/. Belarus and Russia will continue negotiations on the terms of gas supplies, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Semashko said on Monday after a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko.

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"Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow we will continue these discussions. Today I received instructions from the president to discuss all three options and choose the best for the two countries," Semashko said.

According to him, the president has set a very tight deadline. "Just in two days, including September 14, we must begin signing of the protocol. It is impossible to further delay this process, because the delay has both political and economic costs," Semashko said.

Referring to possible pricing options Semashko noted that the Belarusian side prefers the option of equal prices, which was included in the previously signed agreements. The second compromise option, according to him, is to tie domestic Russian prices with a number of conditions. The third option involves certain subsidies.

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