* This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.
MOSCOW, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia will raise the transit fee it pays to Belarus for pumping oil to Europe via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline by 10.2% from February, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Saturday.
Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft agreed on the increase with Belarus, which initially had hoped for a rise of 14.5%, the newspaper said.
Russian oil is pumped through the southern branch of the Druzhba toward Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, whose refineries will face higher prices because of the higher transit fee. Its northern branch carries oil from Kazakhstan to Germany.
The EU has introduced bans on sea-borne crude oil and oil product imports from Russia over the conflict in Ukraine. However, the bans do not apply to shipments sent via the Druzhba pipeline.
Nikolai Tokarev, the head of Transneft, said on Wednesday that both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, seen by Moscow as "unfriendly" countries because of their support for sanctions against Russia, had applied to the EU for extensions of their exemptions from the Russian oil import ban. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jason Neely)
