Belarus makes payments in roubles with Gazprom

Belarus that purchases about 20 bln cubic m of the Russia gas a year, from the end of 2014 pays for it in roubles, head of financial-economic department of Gazprom, A. Kruglov, said.

In late December 2014 Belarus and Russia agreed to fix prices for the shipped to Russia provisions in foreign currency. The deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, M. Rusyi, said it was done so that the Belarus enterprises would not make a loss.

On December 18th the former Prime Minister of Belarus, M. Myasnikov, said that Minsk lost $739 mln in the trade direction with Russia per year. The President of Belarus, A. Lukashenko, demanded the Government to change the payments with Russia into dollars or euro. Such measures should have been taken long ago, he said. “There is a goal to trade for dollars with Russia, but not roubles, as we pay for energy products”, Mr. Lukashenko said.