Russia`s Gazprom gas monopoly says it has restarted gas shipments through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe after halting them nearly two weeks ago amid a pricing dispute, according to AP.
Gazprom spokesman Boris Sapozhnikov says EU-led monitors will track the flow of the gas being pumped into Ukraine. He says the gas flow was restarted around 1030 Moscow time (0730 GMT) Tuesday.
Officials say it could take 36 hours for gas to reach consumers in Europe.
Russia halted gas shipments to Europe on Jan. 7 as it argued with Ukraine over 2009 gas prices. Europe gets about one-fifth of its gas from Russia via Ukrainian pipelines.
Supplies were restarted after Russian and Ukrainian officials signed a deal Monday that doubled the price for supplies to Ukraine.
