Russia hopes that an agreement on the deployment of European Union (EU) monitors in Ukraine will soon be signed before gas supplies to Europe are restored, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Saturday.
During a meeting with Putin outside Moscow, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said the EU had reached an oral agreement with Kiev for Russian experts to monitor gas transit in Ukraine.
"We have an oral understanding that Russian experts should be deployed in Ukraine and that an expert monitoring commission be deployed at the entrance and exit gas stations in the territories of both Ukraine and Russia," Topolanek was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
However, Putin insisted on a written deal.
"I hope you will manage to persuade our Ukrainian partners to sign the documents to create mechanisms of control," Putin told his Czech counterpart, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
He also accused Ukraine of aggravating the gas crisis.
"Despite the fact that European institutions and you personally are making efforts to resolve the crisis, Ukraine has further aggravated it," he told Topolanek.
Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 over a pricing dispute, and shut down gas flows intended for Europe via Ukraine Wednesday.
The EU depends on Russia for one-fourth of its gas supply, the bulk of which comes via Ukraine. The cutoff has left thousands of European families without heating at the height of winter.
Russia's state gas monopoly Gazprom said Friday it would resume supplies to Europe via Ukraine if an agreement allowing an EU-led monitoring team to track gas flows through Ukraine was signed. However, Russian and Ukrainian officials have continued to argue over the details of the deal.
Topolanek, who arrived in Moscow on Saturday with the aim of brokering a deal on ending the row, told Putin he would not leave the region until Russian gas started flowing to Europe again.
Source: Xinhua
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