Paris - Russia must respect the contracts it has signed to deliver natural gas to Europe, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday in Paris.

"Russia has contractual obligations with the Europeans, and they must be respected," Sarkozy told journalists after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The French president also urged Ukraine to respect European interests.

"Europe has done a great deal for (Ukraine), because under the French (EU) presidency we obtained the opening of a privileged partnership for Ukraine," Sarkozy said.

Merkel said the EU experts being sent to Ukraine and Russia would determine which country was responsible for provoking the conflict that has stopped the delivery of Russian natural gas to Europe.

"They will see if the gas coming from Russia is vanishing in the Ukrainian pipelines," Merkel said. (dpa)