Russia-Belarus gas deal reached

[muriel_volestrangler]

Russia and Belarus say they have reached a deal on gas supplies after Moscow threatened to cut them off if a big price rise was not agreed.
...
Describing it as "unfortunate terms", Belarus said it would pay $100 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, below the $105 demanded by Russia.

Russia had threatened to halt supplies at 1000 (0700GMT) on Monday unless Belarus more than doubled its payments.
...
Although some of the targeted countries, such as Ukraine and Georgia, have strained relations with the Kremlin, Belarus has historically remained an ally throughout the post-Soviet period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6221835.stm

It did seem surprising for Russia to put so much pressure on a country that has not thrown its lot in with Western Europe. This looked more like a plain attempt by Russia to grab control of the Belarussian pipeline system.