RUSSIA

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev told energy tsar Igor Sechin yesterday to restore power supplies to the former Soviet country of Belarus,.

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Jul 2011, 20:03 BST

Deputy Prime Minister Sechin, who oversees Russia’s oil and gas sectors, last week defended Moscow’s power supply cut to its western neighbour, which is suffering from a balance of payments crisis.

The move forced Minsk to pay off overdue electricity bills of around 1.2 billion roubles (£26.43 million) for supplies in March, April and May.