EU Commission demands restoration of oil supply

Oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline by which oil is transported to Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary were halted on Sunday night as a result of the oil price row with Belarus. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the move was "unacceptable" and that it "destroys trust" while the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso added that such action without consultation with the partners is unacceptable. Merkel, who is to visit Moscow on 21 January, declared that she would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin for guaranteed oil and gas supply to Europe. Russia began price negotiations with Belarus, however, no results we achieved and negotiations were suspended late in the evening.(Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 1; Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) E.B.