Russia, Belarus sign gas deal

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and Belarus announced a last-minute deal on gas prices on Monday, moments before Moscow was to start cutting off supplies with potential disruption for customers in Europe.

Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky arrived at Russian gas monopoly Gazprom’s Moscow headquarters barely 30 minutes before Sunday’s midnight deadline to sign the deal.

Gazprom (GAZP.MM) had threatened to cut supplies to Belarus from January 1 if a deal on new gas prices to its neighbor was not reached by midnight. Minsk said it would retaliate by halting Russian gas crossing the country on its way to Western Europe.

“A mid-term agreement was reached on gas prices to Belarus and on transit shipments to Europe,” Gazprom boss Alexei Miller told a news briefing early on Monday.

Reuters