Interview with Sergey Kupriyanov

Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov gave an interview to Russia Today on the details of the deal to solve financial dispute between Russian energy giant Gazprom and its Belarusian counterpart.

Sergey Kupriyanov, Gazprom spokesman gave an interview to Russia Today, commenting on the details of the deal which has led to Russian energy giant Gazprom suspending planned cuts in gas supply to Belarus.

“The negotiations were intense as usual, but the result is satisfactory. The first payment of $US190 MLN has been made today to cover part of the debt. When seeing the real steps from the Belarusian side the decision to delay reduction of gas supplies was made. We are expecting a full settlement within one week, and what's very important as well, full payment for the gas supply,” Sergey Kupriyanov stressed.

“We have already warned our Belarusian partners that if the payment falls through, we will have to go back to the previous plan and gas supplies will be reduced by the amount of the remaining debt on August 10, at 1000 AM. In any case the situation will be less serious because a major part of the debt has been settled already today,” added he.

“We understand the concern of European countries but we are doing everything to avoid similar situations in the future. There are short and long-term contracts signed to ensure gas transit through countries we work with. We are also working on building new pipelines which will not go through any transit country. As for the current situation, Gazprom will have done everything to ensure gas supplies to European consumers,” Gazprom spokesman noted.