The presidents of Russia and Belarus have found a compromise solution to an oil transit row which has disrupted supplies to the European Union, the Belarus presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.
 
In a telephone conversation, President Vladimir Putin and his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko "found a compromise which allows resolution of the dead-end situation", Lukashenko's office said.
 
"The prime ministers of Belarus and Russia were ordered to work out concrete proposals within two days for resolution of all problem questions and to submit these for review by heads of state by Friday, January 12."
 
According to the statement, the telephone conversation was "lengthy".
 
The Kremlin press service confirmed to AFP that the conversation took place, but could not immediately provide details of the discussion.
 
Russian news agency Interfax quoted an unnamed Kremlin spokesperson as saying that the presidents had discussed "questions of economic cooperation between Russia and Belarus, including in the energy sphere, among them problems with the transit of Russian oil through Belarussian territory."
 
Negotiators in Moscow reportedly remained at loggerheads over the row, which began with Belarus' demand for a new transit tax on Russian crude oil sent via its territory to clients in the European Union.
 
Russia cut the flow through the pipeline on Monday in what Moscow says was a response to illegal siphoning of supplies by Belarus.
 
The dispute has disrupted oil supplies to the European Union, which is preparing a new plan to protect energy deliveries to the 27-nation bloc. Hungary has begun to draw on reserve supplies.