Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday gave another 24 hours for Gazprom to pay its proclaimed residual debt for transit fees, and said otherwise his government would suspend the transit of Russian oil and gas, Xinhua reported.
"I am warning the government once again: failure by Gazprom to pay for the services over the next 24 hours must lead to the suspension of any services for the Russian Federation, involving transportation of hydrocarbons-- oil and gas," Lukashenko told a government meeting in Minsk as quoted by Russian news agencies.