Industry minister welcomes resumption of gas supplies

Czech Industry Minister Martin Ríman on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of natural gas supplies from Russia but said that Russian gas must flow through Ukraine to Europe for at least three days before the crisis can be considered well and truly over. The Czech EU presidency led the talks aimed at resolving the gas dispute between Russian and Ukraine, but its efforts were repeatedly thwarted by fresh controversy between the two neighbour states. The drawn-out disputes over pricing and payment have led the EU to consider a diversification of its energy supplies.