Russia 'to resume gas supplies'

It could take up to 48 hours for gas supplies to return to normal

Russia will resume pumping gas to third countries via Ukraine from Tuesday morning, following the completion of a monitoring deal, the EU says.

The Czech presidency of the EU made the announcement following the signing of a deal by Russia, Ukraine and the EU.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Europe have been left without gas since Russia turned off the taps over a contractual dispute with Ukraine.

Despite the deal, it may be some time before supplies return to normal.

BBC Europe Business Reporter Ben Shore says that in theory supplies could return to normal within 24 hours but a more likely time frame is 36 to 48 hours.

The news of a deal will come as a relief for countries such as Serbia and Bulgaria which rely almost entirely on Russian gas, delivered through Ukraine, to heat their homes, our correspondent says.

However, the row between Ukraine and Russia has further underlined the vulnerability of Europe's gas supply, he says.

Alexander Medvedev, deputy chief executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom, told a news conference in Brussels: "If there are no obstacles... gas supplies will be restarted at 8 o'clock [0700 GMT].

"[We] will all hope it will happen tomorrow."