Gazprom, Naftogaz bilateral talks underway in Brussels: Ukraine

(KIEV) - Bilateral talks have started in Brussels between the chiefs of Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom on their gas crisis, the head of the Ukrainian mission to the EU told AFP on Thursday.

"I can confirm that the meeting has started at the initiative of the Russian side," Andriy Veselovsky, the head of Ukraine's mission to the EU, told AFP by telephone from Brussels.

The chief executive of Russian energy giant Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and Oleg Dubina, the chief of Ukraine state gas company Naftogaz, had previously held separate meetings Thursday with EU officials on their gas crisis.

Earlier, Dubina told the Interfax news agency in Brussels that talks with Miller had been planned but were "cancelled by the Russian side," in a blow to hopes for a swift resolution to the conflict.