Russian oil exports to Europe via neighboring Belarus were halted Monday as a bitter trade dispute between Moscow and Minsk spilled over into several European countries including Germany and Poland, AP reported. EU energy chief Andris Piebalgs said the situation posed «no immediate risk» to energy supplies in the European Union. However, Germany, which holds the EU presidency, called for the oil deliveries through a pipeline that transits Belarus to be resumed «as quickly as possible.» The impact of a short-term stoppage is likely to be minimal, as refineries in the EU maintain strategic oil stocks. Yet the disruption to Russian oil supplies to Europe once again highlighted concerns about European energy reliance on Russia a year after its pricing dispute with Ukraine briefly affected EU imports of Russian natural gas. Russia's Deputy Trade and Economic Development Minister Andrei Sharonov said that Moscow had been forced to suspend oil exports via the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline after disruptions he blamed on Minsk. «We view this situation as force majeure,» he said in an interview with Russian news channel Vesti, according to the ITAR-Tass news agency. Germany and Poland said earlier Monday that Russian oil supplies through Belarus had halted, and Russia accused its neighbor of siphoning off oil destined for Europe since the weekend. The 4,000-kilometer-long (2,500-mile-long) pipeline has the capacity to ship over 1.2 million barrels a day to eastern and central Europe and generally works at or close to its full capacity. The pipeline has two branches, one of which runs to Poland and Germany, and the other to Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. A Belarusian delegation left Monday evening for urgent talks in Moscow.
