Still no gas

The Russia-Ukraine Natural Gas dance just gets more convoluted every day, and still no gas flows to Europe.

The unhappy customer base in Eastern Europe is holding meetings today in Ukraine, and that group is takings sides with Ukraine.

The talks, which bring together some of Moscow's toughest Eastern European critics, was organized with unusual speed and secrecy and announced just hours before it began.

Participants include Polish President Lech Kaczynski, Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, and Moldovan Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii, according to a Ukrainian statement.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister V. Putin of Russia is meeting with German Chancellor A. Merkel today.

All this in run-up to the 17.January meeting in Moscow called in answer to an E.U. request for an all-parties round of talks.