Moscow - Russia resumed supplies of gas to Europe on Tuesday, gas export monopoly Gazprom said, under an EU-brokered gas monitoring deal between Ukraine and Russia.

Gazprom said it had sent 76 million cubic metres of gas through the pipelines at 10 am Moscow time (0700 GMT), news agency Interfax reported.

But experts say it could take up to three days for gas pumped from Siberia to reach Europe, where thousands of people have been left without heat in one of the coldest winters the continent has seen in a decade. (dpa)