EU's Barroso believes Russia/Ukraine gas deal struck

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday he believed the European Union had successfully brokered a deal on gas supplies between Russia and Ukraine.

Barroso said in remarks made as he prepares to leave office on Friday that he was pleased still to be at work because "apparently we have an accord which the Commission has mediated between Russia and Ukraine."

Negotiators had made no obvious progress in talks that began on Wednesday and were adjourned in the early hours of Thursday.

(Reporting By Alastair Macdonald)