OGARYOVO, Russia - Russian and European Union officials cleared the way for restarting Russian natural gas supplies to a freezing Europe with a deal Saturday on the deployment of EU observers to monitor the flow across Ukraine. But the written deal that Russia wants before the monitors are put in place and gas shipments are renewed still must be signed by Ukraine to come into force. Russia's Gazprom state gas monopoly halted gas supplies to Europe amid a bitter contract dispute with Ukraine seen by many as another attempt by Moscow to reassert its clout over Western-leaning former Soviet republics. Russia supplies about one-quarter of the EU's natural gas, most of it shipped through Ukraine, and the disruption has come during a harsh winter. At least 11 people have frozen to death this week in Europe, including 10 in Poland, where temperatures have sunk to minus 13 F (minus 25 C). Saturday's deal followed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's talks with visiting Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency. Topolanek, who talked to Putin after visiting Ukraine, flew back into the Ukrainian capital later Saturday to get Ukraine's approval. He voiced hope for quickly finalizing the deal. “I believe there will be no obstacles for its signing in Ukraine,” Topolanek said after meeting with Putin in the Russian premier's estate of Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow. Ukrainian officials have previously voiced concern that the deal would give Russian officials too much access to the Ukrainian gas transit system. The EU experts arrived in Ukraine on Friday prepared to act as referees in a bitter economic battle between the two former Soviet states, but there were no gas shipments for them to track Saturday as Russian and Ukrainian officials argued over details of the monitoring pact. Russia says the EU monitors are needed to make transit fully transparent and to prevent what it called Ukraine's theft of supplies meant for Europe, a charge Kiev hotly denies.
