'Gas must flow', says EU commission

EU officials are preparing to meet with Russia and Ukraine to resolve the gas crisis, which has seen supplies cut off to parts of Europe.

The commission confirmed on Friday that energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Czech industry minister Martin Ríman, whose country recently took over the EU presidency, will attend the talks in Moscow this weekend.

A commission spokesman stressed the need for there to "be a meaningful discussion between Russia and Ukraine on the issue of transit to Europe".

"The commission believes that the meetings in the coming days offer the last and best chance for Russia and Ukraine to demonstrate they are serious about resolving the dispute," he added.

"The gas must flow and we will regard this period as a test case for judging whether or not [Russia and Ukraine] are credible partners."

Asked about Russia's proposals for a gas consortium, the spokesman refused to discuss specific proposals for ending the crisis but said the EU supported all creative ways to end the standoff.

"All solutions must be agreeable to all parties," he said.

A spokesman for energy commissioner Piebalgs said he had received information on monitoring gas flows between the countries.

Russia agreed to resume deliveries through Ukraine on Tuesday, but Kiev said that too little gas had been supplied through an unworkable route.

"Unfortunately the gas flow scenario was very similar to the previous day: Russia declared the same nominal flow of gas to Ukraine at exactly the same entry point," Piebalgs’s spokesman said.

"The Ukrainian side expressed the same technical concerns as yesterday and there was no transit of Russian gas through the country."

Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is also expected to attend the Moscow talks.

A statement published by Ukraine described dialogue between the two governments as "constructive" and "a positive sign for solving all the problems in the gas sphere".

Tymoshenko said she thought it would be possible to reach a compromise on the issue.

German chancellor Angela Merkel, who is meeting with Putin in Berlin on Friday, has warned that the row could damage Russia's reputation as a reliable energy supplier.

There have been problems with supplies to Ukraine since the first week of the year as a result of a row between gas companies Gazprom and Naftogaz over alleged debts and prices.

European commission president José Manuel Barroso is growing increasingly frustrated at the situation, and warned that he would advise member companies to take legal action if the dispute was not resolved promptly.

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