Mirek Topolanek, who has arrived in Russia after a visit to Ukraine, said an agreement had been reached with Kiev, under which representatives of Russian energy giant Gazprom will monitor transit operations on Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine's Naftogaz will assign its experts to Russia.
Topolanek said they had managed to overcome certain disagreements between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"I hope you will manage to persuade our Ukrainian partners to sign the documents to create mechanisms of control," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Topolanek.
The first group of international observers who will monitor Russian gas transit arrived in Kiev Friday. Russia earlier said it will not resume gas supplies to the European Union until an international mission starts monitoring gas transit through Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine failed to agree on New Year's Eve on how to settle Kiev's gas debts or on a contract for 2009 deliveries. As a result, gas supplies from Russia to European consumers through Ukraine were reduced and then halted.
Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Bosnia, Italy, Poland, France, Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia were affected by the gas dispute.
Gazprom accused Ukraine, which accounts for some 80% of Russia's gas exports, of stealing more than 86 million cubic meters of gas since the start of the year, but Kiev denied the accusations saying that Russia was trying to discredit Ukraine as a reliable gas transit partner.
