Mirek Topolanek and Yulia Timoshenko

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, right, and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek before their meeting in Kiev, January 9, 2009. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the EU presidency, arrived to Kiev for help negotiate details of the EU observers who will monitor Russian gas transit across the Ukraine. The EU observers will have the mission of monitoring the volumes of Russian natural gas shipments through Ukraine, and could begin work as early as 10 January 2009. Disputes between the Kremlin and Kiev over possible Ukrainian siphoning of Russian natural gas shipments to Europe, among other issues, were a key factor in provoking a Russian natural gas embargo to Europe. Moscow has insisted on the presence of independent monitors in Ukraine, as a pre-condition for ending the embargo and re-starting gas exports to Europe. Photo by Aleksandr Prokopenko / POOL / UNIAN