January 14, 2007	Sunday	Zilhaj 23, 1427

MOSCOW, Jan 13: Russia and Belarus signed a formal agreement on late Friday resolving an oil transit row that had disrupted supplies through the main export pipeline to Europe, Russian media said.

Officials from the two countries reached “a balanced solution, corresponding to the interests of both countries,” Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said in televised comments, admitting that “talks went hard.”

”This is a result of complications in our ties. But all is well that ends well, I hope that all have drawn their conclusions, and in the future we will be able to avoid such situations,” Fradkov said.

“I think everyone must be satisfied with the formula we have signed, which is in force starting January 1,” Sidorsky said.

The agreement came after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Belarus’ Alexander Lukashenko talked on Friday by telephone, unblocking the final obstacles in a dispute that had disrupted oil supplies to the EU earlier this week and damaged Russia’s reputation as a reliable energy supplier.

The agreement covers several aspects of the countries’ complex oil trading arrangements, which Moscow had said earlier were being unfairly exploited by Belarus.

Moscow had accused Minsk of making disproportionate profits by processing cheap Russian oil and selling it on European markets.

The dispute prompted the shutdown of the Druzhba (friendship) pipeline, Russia's main oil export pipeline to Europe, for three days beginning on Monday.—AFP