Gazprom has said Ukraine “was signing” a deal struck with European Union help to end a Russian-Ukrainian gas-bill row that has shut down supplies to much of southcentral Europe since New Year’s day.

Yet by Monday, the taps were reportedly not yet turned on over changes to the deal the Kremlin alleges the Urainians have made. The Russian Goverment Web site said Gazprom was instructed by President Dimitri Medvedev to await Kiev's reversion to an agreed text.

Gazprom on Monday said it was still waiting for the agreed rules and measures that were to kick-off gas-meter monitoring agreed by all parties.

The “mechanism of control” for monitoring is now said to be in place after an agreement obtained in the Czech Republic at the weekend. But Russian politicians are already pointing to $800 million in lost Gazprom revenues, Norwegian radio news NRK reported Monday.

“At present, a group of monitors from Gazprom and the European Commission are preparing to begin their work at gas metering stations in Russia and Ukraine,” Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov said.

But he said the “Terms of Reference” for the monitoring of gas passing through the Ukraine had was not yet in the hands of monitors although it had been signed been signed by all parties.

“This handicaps both our activities and the startup of the monitors’ work at the facilities they are to fly to in the nearest time,” Kupriyanov said. But Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller said Saturday he was conscerned about the theft of gas.

“Once the Russian gas transit across Ukraine is resumed, we will take the following approach: If we see that Ukraine illegally siphons off Russian gas, if we see that Ukraine steals gas at the exit points of the European gas metering stations near Ukraine, we will reduce gas supplies to the Russian-Ukrainian border by the volume stolen,” Miller was quoted as saying.

“As an initial step we will supply the minimum required volume to consumers in the Balkans, in particular,” he continued before proming only monitoring was delaying speedy supplies for the Balkans.

Tags: Gazprom