Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly will not cut gas supplies to Belarus after Minsk paid a "significant part" of a $456 million gas debt before a deadline set for this morning.
All-night talks between Russia's Gazprom and its former Soviet neighbour yielded a deal that gives Belarus one week to pay the remaining debt in full, allaying fears of supply disruptions through key export pipes to Europe.
Belarus pipeline operator Beltransgaz had paid $190 million, or more than 40 per cent of the bill, the Interfax news agency reported.
Gazprom's threat had sparked fears Belarus could siphon gas from pipelines, taking 20 per cent of Russia's gas exports to Europe, and rekindled bitter memories of Gazprom's past disputes with Ukraine and Belarus.
The current standoff is over a deal signed in the last minutes of 2006 that obliged Belarus to pay $100 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, instead of $46.
In the price fight with Ukraine, supplies to the EU dropped in the first days of 2006 as Ukraine siphoned gas from a transit pipeline after Gazprom halted direct shipments.
Gazprom supplies a quarter of the gas used by Europe, and the incident drove home Europe's dependence on Russia for energy.
AP