Russian and Ukrainian officials suspended their meeting on Wednesday over gas prices.

"We agreed to take a break until tomorrow," Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov said after talks with his Russian counterpart Viktor Khristenko, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

"There has been some progress in the negotiations. Compromises are possible," Plachkov said, adding experts will get down to work at Russian natural gas giant Gazprom at 9:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) Thursday and a meeting with Gazprom management is scheduled for 3: 00 p.m. (1200 GMT).

Russia's Industry and Energy Ministry made no comments after the meeting.

Plachkov traveled to the Russian capital amid increasingly vocal warnings from Gazprom that it will shut the taps for Ukraine on Jan. 1 if no deal is clinched by then.

Ukraine is buying Russian gas for 50 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, but Gazprom, which is preparing to make its shares available to foreign investors next year, has demanded an end to the preferential price and offered cash payments for the transit of its gas to European clients.

Ukraine says it is willing to switch to market prices for gas but insists on a transitional period to adjust its economy.

The feud over gas prices has raised fears that supplies to Ukraine could be halted, but the problem for Gazprom now is how it can cut the flow to Ukraine without affecting its European clients as 80 percent of its gas bound for Europe passes through a Ukrainian pipeline.

Source: Xinhua