Business news

MINSK, 10 October (BelTA) – Belarus may switch to Russian rubles in payments for Russian natural gas in the future. Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko made the statement during the Belarusian Energy and Ecology Forum on 10 October, BelTA has learned.

The official reminded that Belarus and Russia had settled all the issues concerning natural gas deliveries in 2017-2019. “It is now necessary to create common markets of energy resources in the Eurasian Economic Union by 1 January 2025. The documents Belarus and Russia signed on 13 April specify that we are supposed to come up with the pricing formula by the end of the year. By 1 July 2019 we will have to prepare the agreement on the formula for buying natural gas in 2020-2024 in order to bring about a common market by 1 January 2025,” explained Vladimir Semashko.

“Currency is one of the things we are discussing. The Russian ruble is an option we are considering. It is profitable to pay in Russian rubles today. By the end of the year we and [Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Arkady] Dvorkovich should sign the document to take care of the matter,” specified Vladimir Semashko.