Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, and Yulia Tymoshenko, his Ukrainian counterpart, signed the agreement at Putin's government headquarters in Moscow on Monday (19 January).
"As a result of intensive and lengthy talks, we have reached agreement on all issues concerning natural gas supply to Ukraine and its transit to Europe," Putin said, according to the Associated Press.
The deal, which was first announced over the weekend (EurActiv 19/01/09), will see Kiev pay 20% less for Russian gas than the European market price, or around $450 per 1,000 cubic metres, according to Ria Novosty, the official Russian news agency. Meanwhile, Russia said it will continue to pay $1.7 per 1,000 cubic metres for each 100 kilometres of gas transited via the Ukrainian pipeline system.
The EU receives about a quarter of its gas from Russia, 80% of which travels through Ukrainian pipelines.
The announcement received a cautious welcome in Brussels, with the European Commission taking note of the signature of the agreement. "We now need an indication of the precise time that gas deliveries will be resumed," the Commission added, however. "Our monitors will verify when the gas actually starts to flow."
Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, later gave an indication of timing, saying supplies to Europe via Ukraine would be resumed at 07:00 GMT on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Commission said EU countries had managed the situation "successfully", thanks to solidarity between member states. Following a meeting of the gas coordination group on 19 January, the EU executive said countries like Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Poland "and even Croatia" had "managed to compensate for missing supplies" thanks to help from fellow EU members. Bulgaria, the country hit worst by supply cuts, is still hoping for deliveries of gas from Greece, the Commission noted.
But this positive view was not shared by all. Speaking to state news agency PAP, Polish President Lech Kaczynski, a frequent critic of Russia, said EU solidarity did not prove its worth.
"[The row] proved once more that a country that gets drawn into a dispute with Russia cannot count on any effective help," Kaczynski said, according to Reuters. "Whether my remarks are received with enthusiasm or not, I want to stress very strongly that this is a slippery slope."
