Russia and Belarus to agree oil supply deal

Moscow and Minsk agreed on Saturday the delivery of 11.5 million metric tons of Russian oil to Belarus in the first half of next year, the Russian government said. The agreement was reached at a meeting between Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich and Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko, who discussed the implementation of integration projects in various areas of bilateral cooperation, RIA Novosti reported. Moscow and Minsk have been recently involved in a trade spat involving Russia's potash producer Uralkali and Belarusian fertilizer giant Belaruskali that triggered a plunge in potash prices on global markets and seriously hit Belarusian export earnings. Belarus is hoping to import about 23 million tons of oil from Russia in 2014, according to Minsk officials.