Belarus voices readiness to create single gas market with Russia

The "road map" for creating a single gas market between Belarus and Russia is ready, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov said, Report informs via Interfax.

"The road map (for gas) is ready. The core of the map is the determination of unambiguous principles and approaches to the functioning of the unified gas market that are clear to both parties," Snopkov said.

According to Snopkov, today, Belarus has the best gas price compared to all CIS countries and the European Union.

"It's comfortable for us today. These principles should determine what will happen in the future. Because the market is volatile. Therefore, these principles should form the correct price response under the conditions of the Union State," Snopkov stressed.

According to him, a particular formula can be determined by which the gas price will be calculated.

On August 31, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said that due to disagreements between the parties in the gas pricing mechanism, one of the 28 "roadmaps" for the integration of Belarus and Russia within the Union State remained uncoordinated.

"This is a roadmap for creating a single gas market," he said.

"The problem is in the pricing formula. I hope that we will solve this problem too," the ambassador said.

In 2021, the gas price for Belarus is $128.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.

Earlier reports noted that gas prices in Europe continue to renew their historical highs against the backdrop of a reduction in supplies by Gazprom through Ukraine and Poland, exceeding last week the mark of $645 per thousand cubic meters.

In Ukraine, exchange gas prices have also set a new all-time high, exceeding 20,000 hryvnias (about $747) per thousand cubic meters (VAT included), but after deducting tax, they remain slightly lower than in Europe.