Gazprom December 2006, Gazprom threatened to cease supply of gas to Belarus at 10 am Moscow time on 1 January 2007, unless Belarus increased payments from $47 to $200 per 1,000 cubic metres or to cede control over its distribution network. Some analysts suggested Moscow was penalising Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, for not delivering on pledges of closer integration with Russia, while others noted that other countries like Armenia were paying as much for their gas as Belarus would with the new price levels. Gazprom later requested a price of $105, yet Belarus still refused the agreement. Belarus responded
Gazprom its sales to European customers. In 2008, the average gas price paid by Russian industrial customers was $71/mcm, while households paid $54/mcm. Since 2000, Natural gas prices have fluctuated. In late 2007, the price of natural gas at the New York NYMEX was 7,53 $ per MMBtu, at 26,4 m³ per MMBTU representing a price of $285 per 1000 Cubic metres. At the same time, based on their respective contracts with Gazprom, German customers paid (per cubic metre) $250, Polish customers $290, Ukraine customers $130 and Russian customers $49. Gazprom delivers gas to 25 European countries. Its main export arm