GAZPROM: RUSSIA PUMPING LESS GAS TO BELARUS

MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 18 (RIA NOVOSTI) - Russia's Gazprom state-run gas company confirmed the fact that Belarus started receiving less Russian gas at exactly 10.00 a.m. Moscow time today. These restrictions were imposed in line with an appeal by the Trans-Nafta independent gas supplier because it has already delivered all the required gas volumes to Belarus (in accordance with previous contracts). Meanwhile the Belarussian side has failed to sign any new contracts, people at Gazprom, which controls the Russian gas market, told RIA Novosti.

The Belarussian side must promptly ink new contracts, so that full-scale gas deliveries could be resumed, they added.

On February 12 Trans-Nafta and Beltransgaz signed the latest contract for the delivery of 360 million cubic meters of Russian gas to Belarus.

Itera, which is yet another independent Russian gas supplier, stopped pumping gas to Belarus February 12.

For its own part, Gazprom stopped all gas deliveries January 1.

Talking to RIA Novosti, Trans-Nafta director general Vladimir Kondrachuk noted that Russia was merely exporting its gas via Belarus at this stage. This implies approximately 25 million cubic meters of gas every 24 hours; at the same time, Belarus needs about 60 million cubic meters of gas per day.

At the same time, Beltransgaz has notified the Russian side that it isn't responsible for gas transits due to lack of gas.