Russian Gazprom has made concessions to Belarus regarding a pricing formula for gas supplies. Now calculations will be carried out in the Russian rubles, just like the Belarusian side asked.
Earlier all deals were conducted in the US dollars. However, due to the greenback’s strength, Belarusian authorities asked Russia to switch to the ruble. According to the new agreement, calculations will be based on an average gas price in Russia multiplied by the inflation index. One of the key reasons behind the formula revision is a slump both in the Russian and Belarusian rubles in 2014-2015. So gas priced in dollars became too expensive for Belarus.
Starting from 2017, Minsk will pay 6,000 Russian rubles for 1,000 cubic meters of gas. Gas shipments will become cheaper by roughly 30 percent. Besides, the gas price is expected to equal in the Russian and Belarusian markets by 2025, when a single energy market for two countries would be created.
