Russia has launched a new oil export terminal that's expected to boost the country's energy sales to Asian markets.
The terminal at the port of Kozmino, near Nakhodka, is part of a larger project involving the construction of a pipeline linking oilfields in eastern Siberia to the Pacific coast.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who inaugurated the terminal, described it as a strategically important event for Russia.
The Kozmino terminal, at a cost of $US2 billion, is expected to handle 500 tankers a year, the BBC reports.
