Russia halts oil supplies to Belarus

On the New Year's Eve, Belarus signed a last-minute contract with Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom on the costs of Russian gas supplies. 

The halt in oil supplies comes after a series of calls between the countries’ leaders earlier this week failed to broker a compromise. President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Aliaksandr Lukashenka spoke on Monday and Tuesday, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was also involved in last-minute efforts to reach a deal.