Russia calls for weekend summit of consumer-countries of its natural gas

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested a weekend summit of consumer-countries of Russian natural gas in Moscow.

He made this proposal during a meeting with the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Moldova - the countries that are badly in need of Russian gas following to a lack of transit via Ukraine.

Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as saying Saturday's meeting will "help resolve the crisis and prevent such situations in the future."

Medvedev's press secretary Natalia Timakova said Ukraine is also being invited to the summit.

The leaders of the three countries also held talks with their Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin outside Moscow Wednesday.

"Millions of Europeans feel like hostages and are truly suffering," Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev told Putin.

Many European nations, mostly in the east, have been hit by disruption in the supply of natural gas due to a transit dispute between Russia and Ukraine. The steep drop in gas supplies caused fuel crisis in Europe, where the heating requirements have increased in winter.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

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