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Russia-Belarus gas price talks in progress — minister

On September 12, the Belarus president set task to reach a final agreement with Russia on energy supplies

MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. Negotiations with Belarus on the price of Russian gas are still in progress, the final version has not yet been worked out yet, Russian Energy Minsiter Alexander Novak told reporters on Thursday.

"We continue negotiations on Belarus, the final option has not been worked out yet," Novak said.

On September 12, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko set the task to reach a final agreement with Russia on energy supplies in 2 days.

Earlier Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik said that Minsk considers $73 per 1,000 cubic meters as a fair price for Russian gas, adding that the Belarusian side is speaking not about a discount for gas but about market-based equal-netback pricing.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the Belarusian debt for Russian gas had reached $270 mln in the first six months of 2016. Meanwhile, Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik said that Belarus had no debts to Gazprom.

According to Novak, the current price of Russian gas supplies to Belarus stands at $132 per 1,000 cubic meters.