"Gazprom" promises to resume gas delivery in the presence of foreign observers

• European Ministers of Energy to meet on Monday in an extraordinary reunion

The management of the Russian gas giant "Gazprom" promissed yesterday in Brussels, that it would resume delivery of natural gas to the EU as soon as the international observers reach the access points on the territory of Ukraine.

"Once the European observers arrive in Ukraine and get access to the gas mains, delivery will resume. This must happen as soon as possible", stated Alexei Miller, the manager of "Gazprom", after a meeting with the chairman of the European Parliament (EP), Hans-Gert Pöttering.

In turn, the representative of the state owned Ukrainian energy company "Naftogaz" has rekindled hope that gas delivery will resume. "Ukraine is ready to guarantee the full transit of Russian Gas to Europe", stated Oleg Dubina, chairman of "Naftogaz", who added: "The current situation, in particular the existing disagreements were the result of economic rather than political problems. They should be solved by taking into account the economic interests of both parties".

Miller and Dubina were present yesterday in Brussels, where negotiations occurred for solving the dispute concerning the delivery of natural gas. Alexei Miller has reminded everyone that he had another round of negotatiations with Oleg Dubina on Wednesday night, after participating in the discussions from Brussels.

Speaking on behalf of the EU, Johannes Laitenberger, spokesperson of the European Commission, specified: "We do not want to send observers over just to have them tell us that the situation doesn"t change. We want to send observers to ensure that the situation changes and delivery resumes".

"Gazprom" has repeatedly accused Ukraine of stealing gas intended for European consumers, to cover its own needs, after Russia stopped direct deliveries towards Ukraine on January 1st, claiming disagreements regarding the levels of fees.

Russia ensures 25% of Europe"s gas consumption, 80% of which crosses through Ukraine"s territory. On Wednesday, deliveries of gas towards all of Europe were halted, with Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for the situation. Countries affected by this incident were Austria, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Romania.

The Czech presidency of the European Union has summoned an extraordinary reunion of the ministers of Energy of the European countries scheduled to take place on Monday, January 12th, in Brussels, where participants will debate the natural gas crisis.