Russia-Belarus oil deal 'close'

A deal between Russia and Belarus on an oil pipeline was “very close” and supplies should be restored in the near future, EU energy chief Andris Piebalgs said today after meeting a senior Russian official.

Piebalgs said Vladimir Chizhov, the Russian ambassador to the EU, had said Russian oil supplier Transneft had been forced to cut off supplies because Belarus had arbitrarily ”misappropriated” oil.