Bulgaria's Ministry of Energy and Economy said on Tuesday that Russian gas supplies to the Balkans halted early in the day.

The ministry said that as of 3:30 AM local time (0130 GMT), Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria as well as the transit to Greece, Turkey and Macedonia had been suspended.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev was going to hold an emergency meeting at 10:00 AM local time (0800 GMT) at the Ministries' Council building to discuss the suspension of the gas supply.

Russian natural gas supplies cover about 90 percent of Bulgaria's needs, and from January 3, the Russian gas supply to Bulgaria has been reduced by 10-15 percent because of the Russia-Ukraine dispute.

Russia turned off natural gas supply to Ukraine on January 1 after the two nations failed to reach compromise over a new price and gas transit fees for a 2009 contract.

That has resulted in reducing supplies to other nations, including Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2009)