Belarus said today it has reduced the volume of oil supplies to Poland and Germany.

The energy feud between Russia and Belarus shows no sign of ending soon.

Belarus this week slapped a duty on transit shipments of Russian crude oil to Europe.

The United States has criticized both Belarus and Russia over the row between the two countries on shipments of Russian crude oil to Western Europe.

The Kremlin says Belarus is breaking the law and a long-standing trade deal by imposing a tax on Russian oil flowing thorough a Belarusian pipeline to Europe.

At the request of Commissioner Piebalgs, the Gas Coordination Group met today to assess the reliability of gas supply through Belarus after the last-minute agreement signed between Gazprom and Belarus on 31 December 2006.

The price for the Russian gas Belarus will buy will be agreed by the new year, Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorskiy told the press while paying a working visit to Mogilev oblast.

The government-run oil firm in Belarus, Belneftekhim, has suspended all of next year's oil delivery contracts with Russian companies.

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka today said Belarus will not give in to what he called "blackmail" by Russia's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom.

Belarus is sending a delegation to Moscow today in a last-minute attempt to defuse a gas crisis with Russia.

Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom says it will dramatically increase natural gas prices for Belarus. In this report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera discusses the ramifications of this move for the two countries.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs today urged Russia and Belarus to end their gas-price dispute, which could affect supplies to EU member states.