The Gazprom – Belarus dispute appears to have come to an end as various news sources reported Belarus has paid its debts to Gazprom in full.
The current impasse can probably be best described as an aftershock of the seismic events of last winter when Gazprom unceremoniously informed selected Former Soviet Republics that they would no longer supply natural gas at the subsidized prices many had been enjoying. Ukraine was outraged, Belarus claimed poverty, but Gazprom played hard-ball by cutting off Ukrainian and Belorussian supplies until their price demands were met.
Unfortunately, Western European supplies were lost in the maelstrom, as both Belarus and Ukraine hold strategic geographical positions and are transit countries for the natural gas pipelines supplying the EU.