Moscow/Brussels - Russian gas monopolist Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz will sit for further face-to-face talks as soon as both leave Brussels on Thursday to fly to Moscow on the same airplane, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said. "We flew to Brussels on the same flight. That is why we don't need to hold special talks in Brussels. We plan to fly to Russia together," Miller was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying in Brussels.
Miller and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleh Dubyna did meet briefly between emergency sessions with the European Parliament and European Comission over drastic shortfalls in gas flow to Europe amid their dispute.
There were rumours that a breakthrough could soon be reached in on-going negotiations Thursday as the EU pushed hard for both sides to resolve their dispute amid steep shortages to its gas supply.
Miller said Gazprom was ready to reopen the flow of gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine if EU monitors are sent to ensure pumps on the country's western border remain working.
A top official in the Ukrainian delegation said a contract could be signed in Moscow Thursday evening.
EU officials confirmed the bloc's readiness to send gas experts to Ukraine to monitor the flow of gas bound for Europe.
