EU steps in to harmonize Russia-Belarus dispute

The European Union Thursday urged Russia and Belarus to settle their dispute over gas deliveries to avoid any disruption in gas supplies to EU Nations. Last year a similar row between Moscow and Ukraine had led to cuts in gas supplies to Europe.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said, "I call on the two parties to reach as soon as possible a satisfactory agreement that does not put in question gas transits to the EU”.

Piebalgs, Thursday announced a special meeting of the bloc's gas co-ordination group to be held on Jan 4 to discuss the Belarus-Russia dispute. The group is tasked with dealings to maintain the security of natural gas supplies to the EU nations.

The group comprises representatives of energy industries and consumer groups and was created after last winter's discontinuation of gas supplies to Ukraine by Russia because of a pricing dispute.

Belarus has been warned of a New Year day’s cut off by Russian monopoly Gazprom, unless the former agrees to share pipelines and pay higher prices for gas from 2007.

Belarus has threatened to interrupt supplies crossing its territory to Europe. Russia is the supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas 80 per cent of which is piped through Ukraine and the rest through Belarus. So, the blockage of gas deliveries through Belarus will not affect EU gas supply significantly.

Analysts believe that short-term shortages of gas can be made up by the gas reserves held in storages in Germany and elsewhere.

As the year-end deadline becomes visible, neither Russia nor western neighbour Belarus is showing any sign of backing down reviving the memories of disrupted supplies to Europe in the Moscow-Ukraine dispute.