MOSCOW, Dec. 25 ??“ Russia and Belarus on Monday were in a deadlock in talks over natural gas prices next year signaling possible supply disruptions on Jan. 1, 2007, a spokesman for Gazprom, Russia??™s gas giant, said.

Belarus, so far known as Russia??™s closest ally, has been facing pressure from Moscow to accept an almost five-fold increase in gas prices starting Jan. 1, 2007, or to surrender control over its gas pipelines.

???Today, the Belarussian party has again stated that it wants to buy Russian gas at prices not higher than in [Russia??™s] Smolensk region,??? Sergei Kuprianov, the spokesman, said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

The development shows that Russia and Belarus have failed to find a compromise over gas prices over the past several months of talks that now may escalate into a major clash and could result in gas supply disruptions.

???The current [gas supply] contract expires in six days,??? Kuprianov said. ???The Belarussian position is irresponsible and jeopardizes the country??™s energy supplies.???

Belarus, which has been seeking to create a single state with Russia, is buying Russian natural gas at $46.68 per 1,000 cubic meters this year.

However, Russia has been recently putting pressure on Belarus to accept a price hike to $230 per 1,000 cubic meters starting Jan. 1, 2007, or to transfer 50% of its gas supply monopoly, Beltransgaz, to Gazprom.

Russia has been moving about 25% of its European gas exports via Belarus this year, while sending the remaining 75% via Ukrainian gas pipelines. In order to compensate for any gas supply disruptions via Belarus, Russia would be forced to send more gas via Ukrainian pipelines in January to offset possible aftereffects in Europe, analysts said.

Over the past two weeks Russia has been holding intensive talks with Ukraine seeking to increase supplies of its natural gas to the E.U. via Ukrainian pipelines in 2007. The talks suggest that Gazprom has been preparing for a Belarus gas supply disruption, analysts said.

Gazprom sent shockwaves via the EU on Jan. 1, 2006, when it during a similar gas price dispute had suspended supplies of gas to Ukraine, the biggest shipper of Russian gas, in a move that had affected many European countries.

Western leaders accused Russia of using gas monopoly for blackmail and for putting political pressure on its neighbors and forcing European countries, led by Poland, to consider creation of an energy alliance.

Gazprom has already resorted to suspending supplies of natural gas to Belarus for 1.5 days in 2004 following a trade dispute between the two. European supplies were not affected due to increased shipments of gas via Ukraine, analysts said.

Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenka has recently suggested that Belarus can pay $130 per 1,000 cu m in 2007, a price that has been earlier agreed for Ukraine. Lukashenka has been separately talking with Ukrainian leaders for creating an alliance to withstand the increasing pressure from Russia.

Belarus, which ships Russian gas to such markets as Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary and Lithuania, has enough gas in its underground gas tanks to meet a quarter of its daily consumption needs during the winter. (tl/ez)