"Gazprom will make sure gas supplies to Europeans be carried out via Belarus in full," Sergei Kupriyanov said. "We will find a way to ensure uninterrupted gas transits via our pipeline."
In a recent dispute between Russia and Belarus on new gas prices for Minsk, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said Wednesday the energy giant will cutoff supplies to the former ex-Soviet republic January 1, 2007 if no new agreement is signed by that time, adding that the move will not affect natural gas deliveries to Europe, which transit through Belarus.
But Belarusian officials called Gazprom's action a provocation and said Belarus, being a transit country, would not suffer gas shortages and would abide by the 2006 price of $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters until the new contract was signed.
Gazprom said it viewed the statements as an open declaration of intent to siphon off Russian gas transited to Europe.
Kupriyanov said the Yamal-Europe pipeline is fully oriented on gas transit deliveries to Europe but has several branch connections with a network of pipelines operated by the Belarusian government-owned pipeline company, Beltransgaz. All branch connections, he said, had been locked and sealed.
"The condition of locked branch connections and of their seals is controlled in Belarus and from Gazprom's office in Moscow," Kupriyanov said. "Possible unsanctioned violations at branch connections will be immediately registered."
The spokesman said the Yamal-Europe pipeline is not one of the pipelines built in the Soviet era, as its construction began after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, while the Belarusian stretch of the pipeline began in 1997. The construction of the stretch, Kupriyanov said, was fully financed by Gazprom, which holds the propriety rights for it and has a long-term agreement on the land lease along the pipeline's route.
"In other words, the Belarusian stretch of the Yamal-Europe pipeline is a completely Russia-owned pipeline," he said.
The dispute with Belarus is reminiscent of a gas spat with Ukraine early this year when Russia briefly suspended gas supplies, affecting consumers in Europe.
But Alexander Medvedev, the head of Gazprom's export arm, said Wednesday that Gazprom would do everything to compensate for the possible tapping of Europe-bound gas by Belarus.
"Not everything depends on us [in the gas dispute] with Belarus this year, nor did it last year with Ukraine, but we will spare no effort to make up for the possible unsanctioned tapping of gas [in transit]," Medvedev said.
But Medvedev said compensating European consumers in full was impossible for a prolonged period, given Russia's growing domestic gas demand.
"But I am positive the situation cannot last more than several days," he said, adding it was unclear how much gas could be tapped and how much channeled along other routes bypassing Belarus.
The state-controlled monopoly proposed that Belarus pay $75 per 1,000 cubic meters in cash plus $30 in shares of Beltransgaz. Belarus said it was only ready to pay $75 in cash.
