The Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers have met in the Crimea for gas talks. The EU hopes the move will prevent a repeat of last winter's disruption to energy supplies.

Vladimir Putin says Russia believes existing gas deals guarantee stable energy supplies to Ukraine and Europe. He told Yulia Tymoshenko that Russia agrees not to impose fines on Ukraine if it fails to use the volumes of gas it had agreed to.

He said Russian payments to Ukraine for gas transit will rise 60 percent in 2010 in line with earlier agreements.

Tymoshenko assured Putin that Ukraine will meet its obligations as a transit country for Russian natural gas piped westward. Tymoshenko also said that Ukraine will not miss any payments for the gas that fuels its own economy.

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