MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) - Belarus proposes establishing common energy prices for member states of Eurasec, a regional economic organization, the country's vice premier said Friday.
Speaking after a session of the Eurasec, or the Eurasian Economic Community, an economic club of former Soviet republics seeking to establish a single economic zone comprising Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus, Andrei Kobyakov said: "We stand for equal prices, since competition should be fair."
If prices for oil and gas are raised, "there can be no talk of equal conditions for competition," Kobyakov said.
Belarus faces a possible three-fold hike in the price it pays for Russian natural gas following an announcement earlier this week by Russia's energy giant Gazprom. The move is expected to tear a hole of around $2 billion Belarusian budget.
Alexander Ryazanov, deputy CEO of Gazprom, said on April 10 that gas prices for Belarus "should be at least three times higher."
According to a contract between Gazprom and Beltransgaz, the Belarusian state-owned gas company whose pipelines carry Russian gas to Europe, this year the Russian gas monopoly is to deliver 21 billion cu m of gas at $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters. In return, Minsk promised to assist Gazprom's operations in the republic, notably not to change gas transit tariffs.
Western European buyers of Russian gas now pay an average of $230 per 1,000 cu m.
Kobyakov said that the mooted common oil and gas market had been discussed at today's session of Eurasec's integration committee, but the issue had been returned to member-states' experts for adjustment.
