MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine has signed a deal on monitoring Russian natural gas transits to Europe removing its earlier conditions, Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Monday.
"A Gazprom delegation held talks in Kiev this morning," the company said in a statement. "Ukraine signed the regulations for the monitoring of natural gas transits via Ukraine without any conditions."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that a three-party deal to resume Russian gas supplies to the EU via Ukraine was invalid as Kiev had added its own declaration to the document after it had been signed by Moscow. Medvedev described the declaration as "mockery of common sense."
A Russian government official said on Monday that Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and other officials were going to Brussels for talks on the gas dispute.
Energy ministers from the 27 EU member-states will hold an emergency meeting later on Monday to discuss the crisis over disrupted Russian gas shipments.
Supplies have been cut off for almost a week as Russia accused Ukraine of siphoning off gas bound for Europe. Moscow said it would restore supplies when the monitoring deal was signed by all the sides and monitors were in place.
International monitors began arriving at gas transit points in both Ukraine and Russia on Sunday.
The gas conflict escalated early this month, when Russia ended shipments to Ukraine after talks on debt and a gas price for 2009 broke down, leading to a complete break in Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine. The country transits around 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas.
In Brussels, Sechin and Miller will discuss the resumption of supplies to Europe "within days or hours," the Russian prime minister's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov said Russia was ready to restore gas supplies to Europe after assurances that the transit control deal signed by Ukraine was legal. "If it is an appropriate document, Miller and Sechin will complete all the formalities."
A Ukrainian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Hryhoriy Nemyria and including oil and gas company CEO Oleh Dubyna has also left for gas talks in Brussels, the vice premier's press service said.
Peskov said supplies to Ukraine should be discussed at bilateral talks.
The European Commission said earlier some 20 countries had been affected by the Russia-Ukraine gas row, especially in the Balkan region, "where the crisis has left tens of thousands of households in the cold and forced schools, hospitals and factories to close."
The gas pricing row between the former Soviet neighbors in 2006 also led to disruptions in shipments to some European consumers, raising concerns about the reliability of the suppliers.
What will be the result of the current Russian-Ukrainian ‘gas war'? (Poll)
