Sofia - The row between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas deliveries hit the Balkans hard Tuesday, with Bulgaria and Croatia reporting a total supply stoppage and Romania a two-thirds drop.

The Bulgarian supplier Bulgargaz said delivery was terminated at Ukraine's border with Romania in the early morning, which also affected the transit of gas to Turkey, Greece and Macedonia.

The Bulgarian government was in an emergency session to discuss the crisis, as supplies may last only a few days.

Croatian TV reported Tuesday that the Russian gas stopped overnight, after a reduction of volume of 18 per cent on Monday. Croatia's production of gas falls short of its needs, so the supply to consumers was reduced and a list of priorities was set up.

The Croatian supplier INA described the situation as "serious and uncertain."

Bulgaria's northern neighbour, Romania, reported that the main pipeline bringing Russian gas and covering two-thirds of its supply was shut down.

Another pipeline arriving in the north-west across Ukraine was still open and was delivering 2.4 million cubic metres of gas daily. Romania normally consumes 6.5 million cubic metres of gas each day.

The local supplier Transgaz said households would remain unaffected as reserves would be drawn on. But industrial users were told not to use more than they were assigned. (dpa)