Russia would resume supply of natural gas to Europe via the Ukraine as soon as European experts arrive to monitor the transit, the CEO of the Russian "Gazprom" Alexei Miller announced.

The experts' arrival could take two to three days, according to European Commission representatives, however, the the Ukrainian Cabinet has issued a statement confirming that European gas transit experts were scheduled to arrive in the Ukraine as early as Friday, the Russian information agency ITAR-TASS reported.

In a phone conversation with the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulya Timoshenko, the European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs had also confirmed the arrival of the experts.

The experts are supposed to research the reason for the termination of Russian gas supplies and to find out who is responsible for the problem.

Russia is fully prepared to restore natural gas transit to Europe after the necessary contract with the Ukraine is signed, Russian President Medvedev stated on Thursday, cited by the Bulgarian information agencies BTA and BGNES.

Dimitry Medvedev had made the statement during a phone call with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

Parvanov has informed the Russian President about the difficult situation in the country, pointing out that gas supply for Bulgaria has not only been reduced as in other countires, but completely discontinued.

"This and the fact that we have modest gas reserves puts our country in a difficult situation and triggers serious economic and social problems," Parvanov has stated.

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