The new version of the protocol on gas transit monitoring having been endorsed by Kiev is expected to be signed by European Union (EU) officials later on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
The document, which was signed on Monday morning during talks in Kiev, is on its way to Brussels, where representatives of the European Commission must sign it, Putin said at a session of the government presidium.
"Independent observers then have to go to the sites specified in the document. Once they are at the control sites and we make sure that they can monitor the transit of natural gas, Gazprom will pump gas to Ukraine's gas-transmission system for transit to Europe," he was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying.
Gazprom announced earlier on Monday that Ukraine had 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 Europe.
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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