“Old Man” is raising the stakes: Belarus may take away Gazprom’s property
The oil dispute between Russia and Belarus may also be supplemented by a gas dispute.
Political scientist Alexei Dzermant, close to the Belarusian president, wrote about this in his telegram channel.
“When selling the Belarusian gas pipeline networks to Gazprom, the parties agreed to gradually reach domestic Russian gas prices for Belarus within 5 years. These agreements were not fulfilled; without taking into account the “transit shoulder,” Minsk buys Russian gas at prices established for Western European countries,” Dzermant wrote.
He reminds that a new gas contract for 2020-2024 has not been concluded between Belarus and Russia while a temporary agreement on gas supplies at 2019 prices is in force.
“This means that in the near future the country will face a round of new complex negotiations. In Moscow, many are counting on higher prices for Belarus, which is seen as compensation for the costs of Gazprom's fiasco in the dispute with Ukraine, while in Minsk they are determined to push for a reduction in the price of Russian natural gas.
“As one of the extreme arguments in the dispute with the Russian side, the option of nationalizing gas transmission networks is being considered, that is, returning the Beltransgaz enterprise previously sold to Gazprom to the ownership of the Belarusian state,” Dzerman wrote.
"Batka" Raises the Stakes: Belarus May Seize Gazprom's Property