Belarus and Russia agree on fixed price for gas in 2023 - Lukashenko

MINSK. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Belarus and Russia have agreed on a fixed price for gas in 2023 and a price-setting mechanism for the next three years, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"We are satisfied with the results of the discussion on a unified gas market concept as a whole and on price-setting for the next three years. The price of Russian gas for Belarus next year is fixed and profitable," Lukashenko said at a press briefing in Minsk on Monday following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two countries' governments will formalize these agreements shortly, he said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said before the presidents' talks that while Russia and Belarus had managed to bring closer their positions on gas market problems, the two leaders had yet to clarify a number of issues.

Belarus began paying for gas in Russian rubles in April 2022, but Minsk and Moscow have not disclosed the price of gas deliveries. Prior to that, in 2021 and in early 2022, Belarus paid $128.52 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas.

Lukashenko said at a meeting with the government on December 16 that the deadlines of the creation of a single gas market with Russia had been disrupted. At the same time, the Belarusian side insists on equal gas price terms with Russia for businesses, he said.