MOSCOW, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Russia will resume gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine once independent monitors from the European Union (EU) are in place, a senior Gazprom official said Thursday.

    The timetable depends on the decision of the European Commission, Ilya Kochevrin, managing director of Gazprom's exporting arm, said in an interview with the Echo of Moscow Radio.

    The Russian side is doing everything possible to make up all the losses caused by the gas crisis, and the EU shows understanding for Russia's stance, Kochevrin said.

    The head of Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, Alexei Miller, and Ukraine's Naftogaz chief Oleg Dubina had held talks in Moscow and in Brussels over their gas row.

    They discussed a new gas supply contract during the talks, Kochevrin said, adding that the problem of gas transit through Ukraine to Europe should be discussed at a different level. "This is a different task that requires a different solution," he said.

    Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 after the two countries failed to reach an agreement on gas prices for 2009 and ceased deliveries to Europe through Ukraine entirely on Wednesday.

    About a quarter of the gas used in the European Union -- more than 40 percent of the bloc's imports -- comes from Russia.

    Ukraine sits on the main transit route for Russia's gas exports, with about 80 percent of Russian gas supplied to the EU passing through the Ukrainian territory.

    A similar dispute over gas prices between Kiev and Moscow erupted in 2006 when Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine, raising deep concerns among European customers.