No progress in gas talks with Belarus - Russian DPM

There has been no progress in the talks between Moscow and Minsk over the payment for the Russian natural gas supplied to Belarus in 2016," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters on February 7.

"There is no movement forward. We are waiting for proposals from our counterparts. There is no deal based on the previous proposals. Anyway, we expect the payments for the year of 2016," the Russian official is quoted by interfax.by as saying.

The conflict between Belarus and Russia over the payments for Russian gas has been underway since early 2016. Belarus pays around $70 per 1000 cubic meters of Russian gas - the price it considers fair, not $132 as stipulated in the contract. Russia said recently the debt has not totalled almost $550 million.

According to Belarus President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the new round of talks was to be held on February 4.