Russia and Belarus raised the stakes Tuesday in their gas trade dispute, with Minsk threatening to suspend transit to Europe in a new "gas war," but Moscow assured its end consumers that supplies can be maintained through Ukraine.
Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered his government to halt flows of Russian gas to Poland, Germany and Lithuania until Gazprom paid $260 million in transit fees for the first half of this year, he said in a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"I want to inform you about the conflict that, unfortunately, is growing into a gas war between Gazprom and Belarus," Lukashenko said in opening remarks at the Minsk meeting.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country was not suffering supply disruptions Tuesday afternoon. Marlene Holzner, the European Commission's spokeswoman on energy, told reporters that she was unaware of supply problems from any member states.
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Ukraine, which transits about 80 percent of gas from Russia, agreed to take over for Belarus to carry additional Russian fuel to European customers.
Earlier on Tuesday, Gazprom stepped up pressure on Belarus by reducing supplies to 70 percent of the country's needs. The measure represented a second 15 percent cut in as many days, as Gazprom insists that it is seeking $192 million in debt for its commodity.
