The European Union criticised Russia this afternoon for closing a pipeline supplying oil to Europe in a price dispute with Belarus and said the move hurt Moscow's reputation as a reliable energy provider.
The European Commission and EU president Germany said it was unacceptable for Russia and Belarus to act without consultation.
Russia has stopped crude exports through the Druzhba pipeline, halting supplies to Poland, Germany and several central European countries. Moscow said on Monday it was forced to act because Belarus was illegally siphoning off oil.
"While there is no immediate risk to supply, it is not acceptable for suppliers or transit countries to take measures without consultation. Of course this is a matter for concern," Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in Berlin.
Mr Barroso was speaking at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said she agreed and branded the cut-off without prior notice "unacceptable".
"That hurts trust and it makes it difficult to build a co-operative relationship based on trust," Merkel said of the pipeline closure.
Commission energy spokesman Ferran Tarradellas Espuny told reporters in Brussels that the pipeline closure and a similar cut in gas supplies to Europe a year ago in a price dispute with Ukraine, "are not going to do good for Russia's reputation as a reliable supplier".
Mr Barroso and the full European Commission were in the German capital to discuss Germany's presidency of the European Union, which began this month.
The Druzhba pipeline carries two-fifths of Russia's total oil exports and supplies Germany with about a fifth of its annual needs.