Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday announced that Russia and Belarus have agreed on gas deals and are close to agreeing on oil deals.
“We must have equal conditions. The possibility of signing the project is close to 100 percent. I was informed that we will equalize the conditions on natural gas. We have agreed. Now the oil talks are close to conclusion,” Lukashenko said.
The only one issue left to solve is the bonus between oil companies for oil they export to Belarus, Lukashenko added.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said this summer that Russia would introduce "an integrative decrease adjustment into the gas pricing formula" for Belarus from 2012, but added that it should be accompanied by Russian gas giant Gazprom's acquisition of the Belarusian government's 50% stake in Beltransgaz.
The gas pricing formula is a major concern for Belarus, which currently buys Russian gas for $286 per 1,000 cubic meters.
