Czech Republic negotiating possible deal with TAL

Czech officials including the minister for industry and trade have begun talks with German-Austrian-Italian company TAL which operates the Ingolstadt pipeline. According to Industry and Trade Minister Martin Riman the talks are being held with a view to negotiating an alternative oil provider in the event of a crisis with Russian provider Druzba. The move follows developments between Belarus and Russia this week. At the same time, it is only the beginning of negotiations: an eventual deal could take several months.