Tymoshenko, Russian and EU delegates attended the meeting in Moscow [EPA]

"Unfortunately ... all the efforts have so far yielded no results," Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said on Saturday at a Kremlin meeting of nations involved in the dispute.

He reiterated at a later news conference that Kiev had to agree to European-level prices for its gas supplies, more than double the level it is now paying, which Ukraine says it cannot afford.

Russia cut off all shipments to Ukraine on January 1 after the price dispute led to a failure to renew a gas agreement for 2009.

Moscow has accused Kiev of stealing gas destined for its European clients, which Ukraine denies.

Russia said on Tuesday that it would re-start supplies but shipments have not yet reached Europe, much of which has been without gas during a bitter winter.

Medvedev said on Saturday that bilateral talks in Moscow would continue and that he wanted supplies to resume "in the next few days".

EU warning

The EU has warned the two countries that its relations with them would be reviewed if the dispute is not resolved this weekend.

Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian prime minister, attended the meeting, with Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, and top level delegates from gas companies, the EU and European nations affected by the dispute.

EU monitoring teams have been deployed in the Ukraine and Russia to oversee the safe transit of supplies.

Ukraine, an ex-Soviet state with pro-Western leaders, has also angered the Kremlin in the past months because of its attempts to join Nato.

The European Union relies on Russia for about one quarter of all the natural gas it needs, with 80 per cent being pumped via pipelines crossing Ukraine.

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