MINSK: Russia has stopped shipping oil to Belarus, said the Belarusian state energy firm on Friday, after the two countries failed to reach a deal on supplies by a Jan 1 deadline.

Moscow said oil flow through Belarus — a key transit route for Russian oil and gas to Europe — was continuing. But a dragged-out dispute could threaten supplies.

Belneftekhim said in a statement that loading to Belarus’s two oil refineries had been reduced to a technical minimum after supplies from Russia were halted.

“Work is ongoing on concluding the January contracts,” said the statement, quoted by state media.

The ex-Soviet neighbours have a long history of energy disputes and complicated bilateral ties, with Bela­ru­sian President Alexander Lukashenko running hot and cold on Moscow’s push for a closer trade and political union.

A previous deal on oil prices, transit fees and volumes expired on December 31.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2020