Russian oil began flowing again through a Belarusian pipeline, signalling an end to a dispute that caused relations between Minsk and Moscow to plummet and sent ripples of doubt across Europe.

Russia’s Natural Resources Ministry said today that a oil pipeline leak threatened environmental damage, but the pipeline’s operator and emergency officials said the spill was far smaller than the ministry claimed and had already been cleaned up.

An oil spill has occurred in one of Russia’s largest export pipelines, causing a potential “environmental catastrophe”, Russian officials said today.