Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev lent Belarus money to settle its debts with Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Euronews TV station, broadcast on Saturday.
"I asked Ilham Aliyev and within 24 hours, or even less, he lent me $200 million; We paid 187 million of that to Gazprom," Lukashenko said.
Minsk refused to pay the Russian gas price, set at $169 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first quarter of the year and $185 for the second quarter. The country has been paying only $150 since January 1.
On Monday, Gazprom began reducing gas supplies to Belarus by 15%. The company increased cuts to 30% on Tuesday and then 60% on Wednesday.
Belarus announced on Wednesday that it paid off the $187 million debt. Lukashenko said he had "asked his friends" for a loan.
Gazprom resumed full gas supplies to Belarus at 10:00 Moscow time [07:00 GMT] on Thursday after announcing that it had received payment from Minsk.
MINSK, June 26 (RIA Novosti)
