"The meetings in the coming days offer the last and best chance for Russia and for Ukraine to demonstrate that they are serious about resolving this dispute," EU spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told a midday briefing.
"The gas must flow," he said, "We will regard this period as a test case for judging whether or not they are credible partners."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed on Wednesday a summit on Saturday in Moscow, where the leaders of European gas-consuming nations would gather to search for ways to end the week long cutoff of gas.
