MINSK, Belarus, July 1 (UPI) -- One of the primary reasons the ruble in Belarus is in decline is because of the high cost of natural gas, the country's first deputy prime minister said.
Inflation in Belarus is in the double digits, and the country's president in June threatened to close the borders if there were a fiscal emergency.
Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said escalating natural gas prices paid to Russia were in part to blame, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
"One of the major reasons for what has happened (the currency crisis) is that the cost of energy products has risen considerably, by $4 billion," he was quoted as saying.
Natural gas prices for Belarus rose from a first-quarter level of $233 per 1,000 cubic meters to $244.70 per 1,000 cubic meters for the second quarter. A gas discount from Russia expires later this year, after which natural gas will be pegged to market conditions.
Semashko said Minsk was likely to ask for a "considerable" discount.
Russia already cut its electricity supplies to Belarus because of debt issues, though that only makes up for 10 percent of the grid.
