MINSK, Belarus, April 18 (UPI) -- Belarus Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski has said his country already pays market price for gas from Russian giant Gazprom.
"Today we are being supplied with gas not at $46.68 dollars but at more than $52 per 1,000 cubic meters, taking into account that value-added tax was formerly levied in Russia in accordance with the country-of-origin principle," he said Monday. "And today we have to levy this tax on our border so that Gazprom doesn't pay the tax to the budget."
Under the current deal, signed in 2005, between the two sides, Belarus pays $50 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, compared with the European market rate of $230 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Critics in Belarus say Gazprom's move is aimed at forcing a speedy sale of Beltranshaz, the Belarusian state company that owns and operates the nation's gas-pipeline network, in which Russia is hoping to win a controlling share.
Sidorski said a gas price increase would hit both countries as Russian companies rely on supplies from Belarus.