October 10, 2016 - 13:03 AMT
Russia - Belarus gas dispute over, Lukashenko says

Belarus and Russia have resolved their oil and gas dispute, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday, October 10, according to Sputnik.

"Yesterday I got familiarized with the government's report on oil and gas disputes with Russia. I understand that the latest battles are over and we managed to sign a document. Problematic issues at least as of yesterday have been agreed and dropped," Lukashenko said as quoted by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).

Moscow and Minsk have been locked in talks over the price of Russian gas supplied to Belarusian consumers. In July, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Belarus owed $270 million in unpaid gas bills to Russia. Minsk has been refusing to recognize the debt, saying that the price of $132.77 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas demanded by Moscow is unfair. Russia has stressed that payments must be made in line with the existing contract.