(ANSA) - Rome, October 31 - Russia agreed an EU-brokered
gas deal with Ukraine Thursday that will secure winter supplies
to the European Union.
"There is now no reason for people in Europe to stay cold
this winter,'' said European Commission President José Manuel
Barroso.
European Union energy chief Guenther Oettinger said he was
confident that Ukraine would be able to afford to pay for the
gas it needed.
He added that the agreement might be the "first glimmer"
of hope in easing tensions between Russian and Ukraine over a
pro-Moscow insurrection in eastern Ukraine.
Russia-Ukraine gas deal
'No reason for Europeans to be cold this winter' says Barroso