Ukraine has signed a fresh copy of the gas transit deal and removed its preconditions for the agreement, paving the way for the resumption of Russian gas supplies to the Europe, Russian gas giant Gazprom said Monday.
"Ukraine signed the agreement for the monitoring of natural gas transit via Ukraine without any conditions," after talks in Kiev with Gazprom Monday, the company said in a statement.
President Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday Russia will not apply the EU-brokered protocol that was inked on Saturday until Ukraine drops its additional conditions for the contract.
Russia supplies about a quarter of the EU's natural gas, and some 80 percent of it is transported through Ukraine. It cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after the two sides failed to reach a new deal for 2009 and debt repayments.
All Russian gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine were shut down last Wednesday as the gas row escalated, creating supply shortfalls for a number of EU countries, mostly in central and eastern Europe.
Source:Xinhua
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