Slovenia says Russian gas imports down 90 pct

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's main gas supplier Geoplin said on Tuesday the flow of Russian gas was reduced by 90 percent from 0300 GMT but the situation "partly improved" after 9 a.m. British time.

Janez Kopac of the ministry of Economy said later on Tuesday gas supply from Russia was at half of the usual level in the afternoon.

"At present the conditions are stable but we do not know what is waiting for us in the following days," Kopac told Slovenia's national press agency STA.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Geoplin said it was in "direct and intensive talks" with its Russian partner Gazprom and urged users to use gas rationally.

It said supply to customers was not disrupted as the company was using other supply sources and stored gas.

Slovenia, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004, uses about 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas per year of which about 55 percent is supplied from Russia while the rest comes mainly from Algeria and Austria.

(Reporting by Marja Novak; Edited by James Jukwey)