It’s another blog post and another sombre outcome as news breaks that the Russia-Belarus oil talks have taken place to no avail.

The countries have spent the last couple of days in discussion over disagreements about the price of export duty which Belarus ought to pay to Russia for oil.

Just yesterday on January 7, 2010, Russia’s Energy Minister, Sergei Shmatko told press that the Moscow and Minsk governments were nearing a solution to this dispute. However today it transpires that in less than 24 hours the tide has turned and the potential threat of oil supply disruption within the European Union remains.

This is by no means a brand new story and follows a brief spell in which Russia cut oil supplies to Belarusian refineries earlier this month as a direct action against the failure to agree on terms.

Later on today a Belarusian government official announced that a delegation lead by Vladimir Semashko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, will fly back to Russia tomorrow to resume talks and battle on for a conclusion to the disagreements.

At this stage it looks like the severity of the implications this could have on EU oil supplies are anyone’s guess. Perhaps the most surprising twist in the reporting of events over the last few days is the way in which a sunny outlook from yesterday can be upturned so quickly overnight.