Russia asks Belarus to pay $230 mln gas debt

MOSCOW, June 17 (Reuters) - Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) has demanded Belarus to pay $230 million in gas arrears, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian embassy in Minsk.

The move marks another escalation in a trade war between the two states after Russia banned some Belarussian milk imports and Minsk retaliated by ordering to impose strict customs controls on main roads to Russia.

Russia supplies a quarter of Europe's gas needs mainly via the territory of Ukraine but also via Belarus, which is a key transit route for Russian gas to Germany and Poland. (Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov, Editing by Toni Vorobyova, + 7 495 775 12 42, moscow.newsroom@reuters.com)