Russia will restore gas supply to Europe Tuesday after an interruption of nearly a week, the European Union (EU) said Monday.
Russia had promised to start pumping natural gas again to the 27-nation bloc via Ukraine after a deal on a monitoring mission was finally agreed upon, said Czech Industry and Trade Minister Martin Riman, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
"After signing the agreement, the Russian side promised us that it will reopen the taps, if there are no obstacles, on Tuesday at 08:00 Central European Time (0700 GMT)," Riman said.
"The signing of the terms of reference by all sides and with no reservations fulfilled the conditions for a prompt renewal of the flow of gas into the EU," he said before chairing an extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels.
Moscow cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after the two sides failed to reach a new deal for 2009 and resolve differences over payments due.
As the tensions between the two built up, Russia shut off all gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine on Jan. 7, accusing Ukraine of stealing gas intended for Europe.
Countries from Turkey to the Baltics were greatly affected by the supply cut as Europe experienced an unusually cold winter.
Amid wide gas shortfalls in its member nations, the EU brokered a deal to end the standoff, under which it would sent monitors to supervise gas flows at transit points in Ukraine.
It looked as if the deal had hit a roadblock Sunday, as Russia accused Ukraine of attaching unacceptable terms to the agreement.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the attachment "tied up the existing problem (of transit) with issues that have nothing to do with it."
Ukraine on Monday signed a new deal on monitoring Russian gas transit to Europe, removing conditions that Russia opposed and clearing the final obstacle for Russia to reopen gas supplies to Europe.
Putin reassured European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a phone conversation Monday that state energy giant Gazprom will resume gas supplies to EU clients once international observers were in place.
EU countries rely heavily on gas imports and 80 percent of the gas they buy from Russia is shipped through Ukraine.
This is not the first time that EU nations have suffered in the fallout of a Russia-Ukraine gas dispute, with the bitter memory of the 2006 energy crisis is still vivid for many Europeans.
Source: Xinhua
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