MINSK, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - Bilateral trade between Belarus and Russia amounted to $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2007, up 14.5% year-on-year, Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported Tuesday.
Belarus' trade deficit with Russia was $1.3 billion, the agency said.
Belarus has reported a substantial trade deficit with Russia over the past few years, due to the large volume of oil and gas imports from Russia.
Following an energy row with Russia early this year, Minsk has been exploring possibilities for energy cooperation with other oil-exporting countries, such as Iran, Azerbaijan and Venezuela.
