MINISTRIES CLASH ON CONTROL OF OIL EXPORTS.

The Ministry for Foreign Economic Relations and the Ministry for Fuel and Energy are locked in a battle over who will control the country’s oil exports, Kommersant-Daily reported June 20. The former wants the state–and therefore itself–to control them; the latter wants individual firms to deal directly with foreign buyers. The business paper said that those who wanted the state to retain control were likely to win but said that a compromise was of course possible.

Major Platinum Find in Karelia.