EU invites Russia, Ukraine for gas talks on Monday

EU energy chief Maros Sefcovic had sent letters "inviting the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers to a trilateral meeting in Brussels on Monday", spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told a news conference. "We are now waiting for final confirmation from both sides whether they will participate."

President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that Russia would halt gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not receive advance payment, raising the possibility of onward deliveries to Europe being disrupted for the fourth time in a decade.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)