Moscow - President Dmitry Medvedev told his counterpart in Bulgaria, which is almost entirely reliant on Russian gas, Moscow was ready to reopen gas flow to Europe via Ukraine as soon as a new contracts with Kiev for gas in 2009, the Kremlin said Thursday.

"The president underlined that Russia is ready to carry out its obligations and renew transits of gas after the conclusion of the necessary contract with Ukraine," the Kremlin said in a statement posted on its website after Medvedev and Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov spoke by phone.

The Kremlin statement seemed to highlight the need for a commercial resolution to the dispute between gas monopolist Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy.

Hope that a solution to the deadlock was nearing emerged in talks with European officials in Brussels on Thursday when the heads of both company's agreed to reopen gas supplies as long as EU experts monitor the flow of gas via Ukraine, EU diplomats said.

EU officials confirmed the bloc's readiness to send gas experts to Ukraine to monitor the flow of gas bound for Europe.

A top official in the Ukrainian delegation said a contract could be signed in Moscow as early as Thursday evening.

Gas shortages triggered by the Russia-Ukraine row over payments have left tens of thousands of families in Serbia and Bulgaria without the ability to heat their homes at a time of freezing cold.

Bulgaria has had sufficient gas reserves for a week, but on Thursday ordered austerity measures, calling on the industry to shrink consumption from the normal winter usage of 12 million cubic metres to just 4.5 million. (dpa)